So I guess what we're waiting for now is some game-changing revelation or gaffe — like there's suddenly actual proof that Hillary Clinton killed Vince Foster…or Donald Trump gets up to give a speech, has a brain fart and declares, "We have to bring back slavery and make poor people and minorities the property of people as rich as me!" Something like that.
If nothing that jarring occurs, Hillary's the Democratic nominee and Donald gets the G.O.P. nod. Or I suppose the Republican establishment could get together and say in essence, "Okay…Trump won by the rules so we're changing the rules." That would sure tear the party apart but so have a lot of things the Republican leadership has done lately. My point is it's going to take some massive change in the dynamic for this to not be a Clinton-Trump face-off. Maybe a big scandal. Maybe some candidate doing something really, really stupid. Maybe even some external news event like a major disaster or another 9/11. Given how wacko this whole election has been so far, I wouldn't rule anything out.
I don't have a particular preference for Sanders over Hillary or vice-versa but I'm sorry Bernie's not doing better. He's saying some important things and he does seem to be the only guy in the race with a positive approval rating and some respect from the opposition party. Even my friend Roger who would sooner go bunjee-jumping on a strand of linguini than vote Democratic thinks Sanders is the only candidate truly speaking his own mind. You wish that counted more than it does these days.
I admit I don't fully "get" the appeal of Trump. It has something to do with the fact that a lot of people are sick of politics as usual and that they buy into the notion — which seems clearly bogus to a lot of us — that Donald is tough and a perpetual winner. I think it also has to do with so many voters finding the G.O.P. alternatives lacking. Rubio's looking more and more like a kid who's in way over his head. Cruz is looking more and more like a ferret.
Left-leaning friends of mine are in despair and terror at even the slight possibility of President Trump…but I don't think they'd be any happier with President Rubio or President Cruz or even President Kasich. What some of them seem to want in a Republican nominee is what Republicans want in a Supreme Court nominee. They want no one this year. If I had more interest in it, I could probably make the case that Trump is the least offensive of many bad choices: Most likely to lose, most likely to surprise us with occasional liberalism if he wins.
I'm not sure who the Big Winner was in the events of yesterday but I have a nomination for Big Loser: Chris Christie. Is there anyone who likes this guy anymore? When will Fox News offer this guy a good-paying show and end the self-destruction of his political career? (I caught him last night on some news channel saying, "If we work together, we can stop Hillary Clinton from getting to Washington!" I'm guessing that means more bridge closures.)
One of the odd things in politics is that every so often, you find yourself agreeing with someone you think is always wrong. It's like tomorrow, if Rush Limbaugh began talking the way I do about cole slaw, I'd find myself thinking, "Hmm…maybe that stuff is a lot closer to edible than I thought." In that spirit, we have Lindsey Graham saying, "You'll never convince me that Donald Trump is the answer to the problem we have with Hispanics. It will tear the party apart, it will divide conservatism, and we're gonna lose to Hillary Clinton and have the third term of Barack Obama."
Before he said that, that's what I thought I wanted. Now since it's him saying it, I'm not so sure.