Gerald Ford’s words to the nation when he took over the US presidency from Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal – “The long nightmare is over” – will probably not be spoken by the winner of the US election. But they will be on the lips of millions around the world.

The presidency of George W. Bush has been traumatic for everyone, American or not, who believes that the human species can only solve the problems facing it in the 21st century by collective action, and by adhering to a multilateral system in which all are bound by the same rules. So traumatic that there is a temptation to blame all difficulties on the Bush administration, and to assume that once it comes to an end those difficulties will vanish.