It may well be true that Donald Trump has made his greatest contribution to the nation before even taking office:  the political destruction of Hillary Clinton and her infinitely corrupt machine.

It’s difficult to grasp how much damage Clinton and her cronies would have inflicted on this country had she been elected. Hyperbole of this type has become a commonplace in political rhetoric in recent years – we hear every day that Obama “destroyed the country,” when in fact Tuesday’s results demonstrated exactly the opposite. But Hillary Clinton is something else – a kind of human focus of corruption and vileness not often encountered outside of fiction.  Four years of Clinton in office would have left the United States in a condition of degradation unseen since the collapse of the Italian republics of the Renaissance.

AT readers don’t need any recital of Clinton’s crimes, nor do we have the space for them. A complete recitation from Rose Law Firm to Whitewater to Benghazi would require the wordage of many articles of this length. We need but mention the two that happen to bookend her career: that she helped free the rapist of a child and then laughed about it, and that she stole relief funds from the very wretched of the earth – the poor of Haiti.

It is not going too far to state that there is scarcely a single genuine act of magnanimity, of kindness, or of simple decency in Hillary Clinton’s record. It is exclusively a parade of crimes and cover-ups, any one of which would have totaled the career of another politician. It’s difficult to recall even a successful attempt to fake a human episode, as is commonly found among dictators of the Kim or Castro variety. Such an effort would have totally unconvincing to an audience of any sophistication whatsoever. Hillary Clinton is simply the epitome of the rabid self – a whirlpool of selfishness, greed, and malignance.

Similarly, it’s next to impossible to come up with any achievements. The “reset”? Benghazi? Syria? Clinton’s entire career is one vast Gobi composed of nullity, not even arising to the level of mediocrity.

It’s even evident in her looks, which are enough to arouse anxiety in any healthy viewer. The near-demented glare, the coldness, the frown lines etched by decades of sneers – Clinton was everyone’s nightmare stepmother, vicious teacher, manipulative coworker or boss. I recall a line from a half-forgotten short story: “a mask of atrocity.” That’ll do.

This is further backed up by accounts from coworkers and underlings, an unending chorus of insults, tantrums, thrown crockery, and petty humiliations. Her sole close human relationship, following a marriage that failed in the most spectacular manner conceivable, is a grotesque “friendship” with another strange figure, Huma Abedin, who might possibly have established and cultivated it under orders.

In light of all this, how did her rise ever come about? With a record matching that of any criminal and a visage bespeaking anger, how did she get within a few million sane votes to taking control of the leading nation on earth? Throughout her career, men of distinguished reputation and otherwise have committed crimes, lied, and degraded themselves to smooth her path. Over the past few months we’ve seen members of the self-styled conservative elite whine that they’d prefer to vote for her for reasons not worth dwelling on. (We need a concise list of these people so that we know whose opinion to set aside in the future.)

Fear is no doubt part of the answer. There is the still not well-understood connection between the Southern mob and the Clinton machine. There’s the machine’s own very effective research and blackmail mechanism, which has dug up secrets of the great and near-great and held them over their heads (Recall Daniel Moynihan, by no means an ignoble figure, standing with his head down and speaking scarcely above a mumble as he “endorsed” Hillary for his Senate seat.)

Ideology is another answer. Somehow, Clinton became the standard-bearer for the left, both the slogan repeaters produced by the universities and their more rabid feminist sisters. Beyond that, there is the sad tribe of professional women promoted due to affirmative action to positions beyond their capabilities and then shunted off to obscure offices and slots where they can do no harm. Clinton has been the spokesman for this group, which is larger than many imagine, for quite some time.

But there’s more to it than that. Looking at history we find numerous instances of individuals who defy every standard and violate every norm as they claw their way to the top, with no one making any meaningful effort to stop them. Hitler is an obvious example, but there are many others. It seems to be a historical pattern. I suspect that it has deep sociobiological roots, that it is a product of the cynicism and hypocrisy present in any society. One particular individual becomes the focus for feelings of defiance, and is allowed actions that others would like to carry out but don’t dare. We see similar impulses in those who idolize criminals such as Dillinger or Willie Sutton, and the women who become pen pals and occasionally the romantic partners of the likes of Charles Manson.

Clinton’s career might well repay close study. We need methods of identifying these types and curtailing them. We also need to closely examine ourselves, our society, and our way of life to identify the weaknesses that allowed this creature to shamble across the political landscape unchallenged for so long.

We have time for that now. Clinton is finished. She is never going to become the American Messalina. She is too sickly to wait out another term. Beyond that, any bandit leader is always marked. When strong, things click along as if by perpetual motion. But if she shows any sign of weakness, her cronies will begin to desert her, those she trampled on and harmed will seek payback, and the authorities will at last stir themselves to look into things. The current investigations will continue and expand. Others will be opened. Clinton can look forward to an old age spent in courthouses and committee rooms. She will end up as one of those Mafia dons slumped in a wheelchair while the lawyers attempt to generate sympathy. And that’s fine. She has earned the most Hellenic of punishments.

We have Donald Trump to thank for this. I still have doubts about Trump. He lacks experience and temperament. His reach is likely to exceed his grasp. His brashness will entangle him with the permanent bureaucracy. He will not preside over an American Renaissance.

But if he accomplishes only two things – reversing the immigration trend and saving the Supreme Court – that will be plenty. Because he has already fulfilled his great historical achievement – saving the United States from falling into the hands of a political banshee. That’s enough for any man.