It was “destroy and search” versus “destroy my good name”. It was a battle of who will turn out more credible. Nine hours of a nation of the riveting-transfixed. By the time Dr Ford had her say, the consensus was that Kavanaugh was in a “deep hole” from which to dig himself out would require a class performance.

And, boy, did he deliver? The 45-minute opening statement of the man Trump picked was all-out attack and no-holds barred. For the Democratic Party, Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court bench was a lifetime of balance shifting towards the conservative side. The Democrats had a plan and a tactic built into the strategy: Discredit the nominee with charges of sexual misconduct and alcoholism.

But they went overboard and they didn’t reckon the kind of man they had taken on. This guy was tiger. He was martial, horseback. This fellow was intellectual. He had a calendar on his life going back 38 years. And Dr. Ford’s uncorroborated accusations went back only 36 years. She didn’t know ‘when’ and ‘where’ and what she alleged stood refuted.

It was powerful speech with television giving powerful agency. By the time Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony was over there was a decided shift of opinion. The gaps in Dr. Ford’s opening statement were too glaring. And ‘this guy’s toast’ became ‘this guy’s the toast.’ The Democrats made a big blunder when they held on to Dr. Ford’s accusations for 45 days until the eve of his confirmation.

That left them open to charges of making an interview for a job into a political witch-hunt, a “circus”. Like they say you cannot take the politics out of politics and America Thursday looked like it was country where presumption of innocence was out of the window and guilty as charged in the door. Except that when a Judge levels that charge it resonates. And resonates is half the perception battle won.

Add to that the charge “destroying a good man’s life and his family to win elections” and it’s powerful politics. Dr Christine Ford wanted to testify second but that drew cries of how could the accuser follow the accused. She stepped up to the podium first and walked away with sympathy. But Judge Kavanaugh, if he gets confirmed on Friday, will walk away with the votes, which is what Trump wants. POTUS stayed ‘home’ whole day Thursday watching his pick tug heart-strings.

America is gearing up for mid-term elections November 2018 and Democrats are keen to win Senate and House, which could help them impeach President Donald Trump and stop the Supreme Court from overturning the right to abortion, Roe versus Wade as they call it. The Democratic Party has put up 164 women candidates for the mid-terms and they expected Dr Ford to take them past the winning post.

Now, that strategy might not work though chances are it yet might! In America as in India a no-holds barred perception battle is on and it’s eye-gouging and intestine-embowelling. All out to the finish with smears and character assassinations. Wells world over have been poisoned and tadpoles are swarming. When Senator Lindsay Graham said he has “never seen such despicable behaviour”, he was speaking of politics there and here.

With the crazy left and the crazy right and everything crazy in between, the world is barrelling towards Judgement Day. Qayamat! (IPA Service)