But neither does he have the time.

Not only is the election just a heartbeat away, the constituency he serves is rapidly becoming a minority. He is faced with his own diminishing windows. And he has much of the infrastructure you allude to that he needs already in place, lovingly constructed and reinforced by others.

I never did believe in Godwin's Law. Fascism has always lurked just below the surface in America, ready to emerge in response to any national stress or emergency. After all, we have always had a very big middle class, in both absolute and relative terms. And that class is now threatened and shrinking rapidly. Maybe the booboisie doesn't have a clue exactly what is going on, but they certainly are aware something is happening. They want quick and easy explanations and solutions, and Fascism has them ready to deliver.

You tend to interpret human behavior in psychological/biological terms (Right Wing Authoritarianism and hominid group dynamics). I tend to see things more from a cultural and social perspective (historical and economic forces). I'm not saying one of us must be right or wrong, this is not a binary choice or an either/or decision. We just perceive the same phenomenon through different filters. I suggest, however, that even from different directions, we are arriving at very similar conclusions.