"I don't wanna kill you! What would I do without you? No, no, no. You ... you complete me!"

— The Joker to Batman in "The Dark Knight"

They need each other, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Neither would stand much of a chance without the presence of the other on the ballot.

When has a choice between presumptive nominees come down to two candidates with such high negative ratings? Clinton's unfavorable ratings, at 55.3 percent last week, would be the worst since such polling began about 30 years ago, except that Donald Trump's negatives, at 60.9 percent, are even higher.

"Crooked Hillary" and "Dangerous Donald" are the terms of unendearment that they reserve for each other. It's bound to get worse in their party conventions over the next two weeks.

Over the course of the year, as much as Clinton creates some space over Trump, their pattern has them veering over time toward each other, then splitting off, then veering back. The latest compilation of polls by The New York Times gives Clinton 43 percent and Trump 40 percent nationally. Clinton's lead in certain key states is very tight — less than 3 percent in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which all went for President Obama in 2012.

Trump's moment in the spotlight begins today in Cleveland. The convention runs through Thursday. Clinton's moment comes in Philadelphia next week, July 25-28. Both are attempting to unite their parties behind them. Clinton is seeking to overcome distrust and win over millions of Bernie Sanders supporters. Trump is seeking to overcome the distaste of the Republican establishment that doesn't consider him a true conservative and is turned off by his xenophobic rants and boorish remarks about women, just to name a couple of factors.

This odd couple is made for each other, at least as opponents: Hillary, careful, triangulating, holding the press at bay; "The Donald," off the cuff and unable to contain himself in middle-of-the-night tweets and in front of a reporter's microphone.

This civics lesson will play out as must-see TV.

REPRINTED FROM THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA DAILY NEWS

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