Irish Examiner view: Reasons to be cheerful — three setbacks for demagogues and a despot

Massachusetts governor-elect Maura Healey celebrating in Boston as she became the first openly lesbian governor in the US. The Democrats' mid-term success is a reason to be cheerful for people who believe in democracy. Picture: Michael Dwyer/AP

Both Trump and Biden are highly polarising figures and after two years of further turbulence in the world the nation may yearn for someone who can bring unity and reconciliation.
Although the candidates favoured by Trump failed to deliver in these mid-terms it may be a mistake to conclude that the results constitute a comfortable mandate for Joe Biden to run successfully in 2024. And the former POTUS is still suggesting he will announce a third run for the White House tomorrow at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.