Inevitable once more

“HERE she is!” shouted Bill Nelson, turning from the podium, with a sweep of his senatorial arm, to an empty walkway, where Hillary Clinton was supposed to be. The small crowd, gathered in an exhibition hall in Kissimmee, central Florida, on August 8th gamely cheered the empty stage, but with a hint of surprise and, when it remained empty, confusion. “I’m with her!” banners weakly fluttered—but where was she? By the time the Democratic nominee, wearing a bright orange trouser suit (which instantly recalled the “Hillary for Prison” badges for sale outside her Republican rival’s rallies), emerged and hotfooted it to the podium, the Floridian crowd was audibly running out of puff.