https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51417722
Election years can be times of national renewal. One thinks of the Reagan landslide in 1984, when he campaigned on the ringing theme of It's Morning Again in America and carried 49 states, or Barack Obama's victory in 2008, with its audacity of hope.
But the chaos of caucus night in Iowa has reminded us again of the country's democratic decay. Even the mechanics of democracy no longer seem to work any more, a problem highlighted in the disputed 2000 election that has not yet been fixed.
On Tuesday night, we witnessed American polarisation play out in real time. During the impeachment trial it often seemed that the very idea - and ideals - of America was on the stand.
A broken politics, a broken democracy, a broken country.
Is the United States beyond the point of repair?