By Britt Nelson

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

Every four years, the Olympics of American politics gets underway and this year is no exception. The primaries have come and gone as well as both national political conventions. Now there are two contenders; both are controversial and both are causing media tidal waves as their words resonate with American voters from coast to coast.

From now until Nov. 8 it, will be all politics all the time as Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump battle it out, both them looking for that split-second, knock-out punch.

It’s a shame the organizers of the Democratic National Convention picked and paraded before the nation parents of a Muslim U.S. Army soldier who was killed in Iraq in 2004, but they did. Losing a child, no matter the circumstances, is one of life’s most gut-wrenching events that have no end. This is the single most highlighted moment from the DNC. The national media is pushing this story over and over while others also get involved.

Clinton’s acceptance speech was highly scripted and adequate but nowhere near as compelling as the story about the slain soldier and the candidates’ subsequent reaction to it plus voter perceptions about it.

During prime time, parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan stood at the convention podium while a large picture of their late son, Capt. Humayan Khan, was projected overhead.

Mr. Khan’s words, broadcast to the nation, attacked Trump saying the candidate did not know what sacrifice is, and he criticized Trump’s plan to halt Muslim immigration from countries sponsoring terrorism. He also doubted Trump had ever read the U.S. Constitution. Khan pulled from his coat a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution offering it to Trump.

Of course, Trump was quick to respond issuing a statement and conducting news interviews at a furious pace. According to a Wall Street Journal story published Sunday, Trump praised Khan’s son calling him a “hero.” Clinton also issued statements.

“While I feel deeply for the loss of his son, Mr. Khan, who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, which is false,” Trump said in his first statement. “And say many other inaccurate things.”

After Trump’s reactions, Mr. Khan also issued statements and gave additional news interviews after the convention ended Thursday night.

“His policies, his practices, do not reflect that he has any understanding of the basic, fundamental constitutional principles of this country, what makes this country exceptional in the history of mankind,” Khan said in a CNN interview on Sunday. “Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person that aspires, that wishes, to be a leader: a moral compass and second is empathy. This candidate is void of both traits that are necessary for the stewardship of this country.”

Clinton, meanwhile, is of course using the Khan/Trump controversy to her advantage. She is hammering Trump on this matter as hard as she can. But this controversy was planned in advance by the Democrats.

“He has throughout the course of his campaign consistently insulted and demeaned individuals, groups of Americans, people around the world. And one doesn’t know where the bottom is,” Clinton said Sunday during a campaign stop in Ohio. “It’s hard to imagine anyone who has ever run to be president of the United States saying any of what he said … and the accumulation of it all is just beyond my comprehension.”

One veteran’s organization is also jumping on the bandwagon, sharply criticizing Trump and demanding an apology from the Republican candidate.

“Your recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant and personally offensive to us,” said a group of 11 ‘Gold Star’ families, which have lost a loved one to war, in a letter published Monday on VoteVets.org. “We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive and frankly anti-American comments.”

The Khan family story has gained what journalists call “legs.” Trump has stepped into bigger controversies and has survived them all, but this one has a Muslim American and immigrant family connection plus the death of an American soldier; therefore, the story has hit home among Democrats and Republicans. Election polls released Monday show Clinton has received the traditional post-convention bump in the polls, which show her now leading Trump nationwide by up to seven percentage points. Trump also experienced a seesaw swing in the polls after the Republican convention.

As the Summer Olympics get underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 5, the American political Olympics is turning up relentless pressure on both Clinton and Trump. Voters will determine which of the candidates can’t stand the heat in the kitchen on Nov. 8.

About the Author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.