A most extraordinary image popped up on my X timeline a couple of weeks ago, one that felt like it belonged to a bygone era. Here were four US political power couples, from both sides of the aisle, grinning alongside one another like it was still the Good Old Days: Bill and Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe and Jill Biden.
Even the way the photo from the “grand opening” of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago had been captioned seemed to imply time had stopped some time during Obama’s presidency. “To George and Laura, Bill and Hillary — we’re grateful for your friendship, counsel, and devotion to this country,” the 44th American president wrote of his White House predecessors. “And to Joe and Jill, thank you for being on this journey with us,” he continued, addressing his former vice-president and second lady.
It was as if the past decade had never happened. What President Trump? What “stolen election”? What humiliating Biden presidency? What pandemic? What total collapse of the old world order?