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The tit-for-tat partisan battle in American politics has become so entrenched that Democratic and Republican primary voters are set to nominate two candidates who are unpalatable to most of the country.
Republican voters are keen to stand by their man Donald Trump, perceiving every attack against him so far to have been an attack against themselves and their worldview. Democratic voters are equally keen to oppose him and will stand by the one person who has beaten him in an election before, Joe Biden.
In truth, a majority of Americans would prefer neither candidate to be in the running.
In the eyes of most voters, Joe Biden is too old to seek another four years as president. 61% say they are 'very' or 'fairly' concerned about his ability to discharge his duties as president due to his age now, never mind in a few years from now.
If he were to win a second term, he would be 82 at its beginning and 86 by its end, far older than a U.S. president has ever been. How 'with it' can American voters really expect the president to be by then?
Meanwhile, Donald Trump - just three years younger - is also mired in legal issues. His voters overwhelmingly believe the indictments against him are primarily the result of politically motivated attacks by his opponents. His detractors say they are primarily the result of his own actions.
Regardless, it is clear that the Democrats are seeking to legally disqualify the former president from office. If he were to win the presidency again, voters no doubt expect his opponents to impeach him, as they twice did during his first term.
Republicans in Congress, for their part, are considering opening an impeachment inquiry into the current president's potential involvement in a corruption scheme involving his son Hunter. And so it goes.
Given this underwhelming choice, voters are rightfully feeling apathetic about next year's election. As many as a third say they would consider voting for an independent candidate.
But third-party candidates have historically tended to be unsuccessful at breaking the two-party system. Another more likely twist could be that the presidential election becomes a contest between two vice presidential candidates.
Traditionally, a vice presidential candidate plays the role of a supporting actor, someone who can be relied on to dutifully support the star of the show, but is never considered a more preferable option.
But such thinking surely goes out the window in this contest. After all, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden only have one term left in them, and neither candidate can be sure that they will even get to complete their term if they were to win.
A set of enterprising vice presidential candidates, both seen as potential future presidents themselves, could add much needed enthusiasm and energy to next year's election.
This opportunity makes the upcoming party primaries all the more important, serving as a chance to see who would best strengthen each campaign as a running mate.
Rather than a showdown between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, next year's election could ultimately be decided by whoever picks the best supporting candidate.
Philip van Scheltinga is Director of Research at Redfield & Wilton Strategies.
