This week’s cover

It’s always good to start the year by looking ahead. Inevitably, that means we are thinking about the Big Election in November. It may seem a long way off but it isn’t really, at least by the relentless calendar of American politics, and the left is already in a state of panic about the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House. 

Lots of Democrats would rather Joe Biden were not their presidential candidate. He doesn’t excite them. They also fear that he will lose and they see Mr Trump as a threat to democracy. The odd thing—and a further reason for this week’s cover—is that, instead of being moved either to challenge Mr Biden or to give their all in support of his campaign, many Democrats have fallen into a glassy-eyed stupor.