Tim Blair’s brilliant appraisal of the 2022 US midterm elections has finally set my anxieties to rest, explaining convincingly that cheating was not the explanation for the Democratic Party successes. (How the red wave became a Democrat dead wave, 14/11). With rusted-on Liberal and Labor voters here, the keenness to vote for a party rather than an individual is a common thread across both countries. It is surely taken to the extreme when a stroke victim and three deceased are elected. Ironic that the dead, whose votes in the past were stolen by the living, are getting revenge. Perhaps it would be better if the US presidency became a permanently ceremonial role, as it appears to be at the moment with a debilitated leader supported by his competent, if anonymous staff. And, maybe it’s time to return the USA to the Commonwealth with King Charles as their head of state. Toning down divisive, parochial politics might be the elixir of hope for a damaged America. Those fearing a Trump revival might sleep a bit better. Alan Sexton, North Parramatta 15Nov2022.