I have friends who are solidly behind Hillary Clinton for president and others — a lesser number but some — who think Trump is the only way to go. The latter group seems to be laboring under the delusion that convincing me — the guy who works on Groo the Wanderer — that Trump would make a great president will vault him into the White House.
Newsflash: I get but one vote and it's in a state where former Secretary of State Clinton currently has a lead of somewhere between 18 and 23 points. If Trump ever closes that gap to the point where there's a chance of him winning California, it will probably means he already has a lock on the other 49 states plus the District of Columbia.
The former group — those who support Hillary and/or would sooner feed their genitalia into a wood chipper than see Trump win — are alternately happy with the polls and worried that "something will happen" that will change the whole dynamic of the race. I agree "something will happen" but wonder if it, whatever it is, will really change anything unless it means a change of nominee(s). Until it does, I see no reason to fret about the race. I do see a reason to stop looking at the national polling and having panic attacks over minor fluctuations.
Once again, I remind you: We do not elect our Chief Execs based on the popular vote. Ask President Gore if you don't believe me. We do it by the Electoral College. If you want to know if there's really something to worry about, keep your eye on Nate Silver's charts of who's likely to get the needed 270 votes to win.
Silver and his crew figure it three ways. At this moment, Hillary Clinton is projected to win 342 electoral votes via one projection, 315 by another and 337 by the third. Please stop writing or calling me from the window ledge with worry until she dips below 300. And when she does (if she does) tell me which 29 more electoral votes you're worried are at risk.
I am not saying Trump cannot win and I am certainly not saying that Clinton and her supporters should not be campaigning with all their might. Even when you're way ahead, run as if you're somewhat behind. But stop stoking your ulcer by thinking that every poll that shows Trump closing the gap in the popular vote means we're going to have four years of the guy who brought us Trump Steaks.
And yes, I know at one point I didn't think the Republican Party would nominate the guy but there's a big difference between the right-wing party voting for a someone I consider a dangerous right-winger and the entire country voting that way. For one thing, the Republicans were always destined to nominate someone I thought was a dangerous right-winger. I just thought for a while it would be a different one.