All the polls say Joe Biden has a substantial lead and will cross the line with ease in the presidential election to be held on November 3.

But that isn’t deterring Donald Trump from holding at least three rallies a day for the last week.

President Trump seems to be gaining momentum and is feeding off the energy of the vast crowds he is attracting, whereas Joe Biden and Kamala Harris seem to be taking a more relaxed approach, almost counting down the clock.

Any sportsperson will tell you, you play for the win and you play hard until the end. Think Rafael Nadal. You can’t rely on your opponent’s mistakes and look for their shortcomings or be seduced by the roar of the crowd. It is never over, until it’s over.

LOW ENERGY CAMPAIGN

Joe Biden’s campaigning lacks the verve and energy of that of Trump, who has fired up his base. The president is now beckoning the undecided, stressing America will fall into the hands of socialism, law and order will break down and a Democrat government will substantially raise taxes. It’s a message Americans hear day after day, night after night.

Biden and Harris must make a compelling argument to win voters over and not simply rely on Trump’s ungracious boorish behaviour turning people off. It is not enough to proclaim that the country cannot stomach four more years of him.

Just looking at the respective efforts made over the last few days, it is apparent Trump wants the victory more. Biden must be mindful of not making the same mistake Hillary Clinton made four years ago – believing the polls, taking her foot off the gas then falling short.

Biden is in the arena with a pitbull.

Speaking to the Third Army during the Second World War, General George S. Patton said: “Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war.”

TRUMP PLAYS TO WIN

Trump is an admirer of Patton and this approach is the centrifugal force of his life – he plays to win.

Americans like Trump’s style and approach, he embodies what they are all about and it is primarily why he defeated Hillary Clinton. It would be folly to place faith in the ravages of COVID-19 as the primary issue that will up-end Trump’s bid for re-election.

 The President is speaking to the soul and spirit of Americans, asking people not to forget its dynamism, enterprise and its will to overcome any setback or obstacle.

By contrast, Biden lacks passion, compulsion, charisma – he comes off all Walter Mondale. Think of the men who have battled and won the Presidency- Kennedy, Clinton, Reagan, FDR, Obama. Is Biden in that league? Can he engage voters like these former presidents have done?

Kamala Harris as a prosecutor and a former attorney-general for California, knows all too well the importance of a closing argument. She too has to make that effort to bring home the victory which means campaigning and making media appearances round the clock all the way to the end.

She can be a future star of the Democratic Party but has to put herself totally before the electorate and let it see what she is all about. She is still an enigma to many Americans and many don’t know quite what to make of her.

At 77, Biden is in the  sunset of his  years, whereas at 56, Harris is peaking  and can beKa,aocacome a transformational world leader over the better part of the next decade. It’s now or never for her and she has a lot at stake. All the more reason to press and press hard.

She should be a primary asset to Biden during this campaign, using her energy and mobilising the black and female vote while he focuses on the rust belt. Nothing can be taken for granted.

The filmmaker Michael Moore has correctly observed that Donald Trump’s support “is always being undercounted because his supporters are suspicious of the so called ‘deep state’.”

All the more reason why Biden and Harris should go for broke.