Say good night, Sen. Marco-mentum-less Rubio. When you get trounced in your home state, you’re toast. Also in the toaster is the other boy senator, Ted Cruz, the least liked man not only in the United States Senate but also in quite a few states so far.
The winner, the man crowning himself once again, is none other than the unsuitable, unelectable Donald Trump. Nothing touches him, because he brushes it off with such frank vulgarity that you either say, “You go, man” or you become terror-stricken that one of the major two parties in America is going to nominate this man as its candidate for president.
And then there is the man who should be the Republican nominee, Ohio’s popular governor and my former colleague on Fox News, John Kasich. Here’s the thing: I like John Kasich a lot. That might be the kiss of death in his current circles, but it’s also why he would be such a strong general election candidate. Asked about immigration, he said he favored a wall between Ohio and Illinois — to protect the Ohio-speaking people. I’d put money on the fact that he came up with that line. It’s real, and so is he.
Joe Klein had a piece in this month’s Time beating up himself and the rest of the press corps for missing the one breath of fresh (and clean) air in this race. They fell for Trump because they work for ratings. I don’t blame the press. I blame Republicans, some of whom are going to wake up one day and ask themselves what fever they were suffering from when they decided to turn the race against Hillary Clinton into a chance to tell everyone and everything where to go and what to do when they got there.
The list of people and groups Trump has insulted is endless. The list of swindlers that he has out-swindled is a mile long. The list of honest people he has taken advantage of, such as the would-be students of his worthless university, is even longer. And the only response is “more power to him”? How can this be?
Every talking head is answering that question, but we all know the answer. We all have Donald Trump moments — moments when we’d like to tell the person in front of us in line where to go and to take the Chatty Cathy checkout gal with her, because you’re literally hours late getting home and there’s nothing in the fridge. But unlike those instances, a Donald Trump moment in November won’t pass with a glass of wine.
As a Democrat, I couldn’t be more pleased. The certain Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, will be facing one of the most all-around unsuitable candidates ever to be nominated by a major political party.
As an American, I’m horrified. And yes, just a little bit afraid.
Susan Estrich is a nationally syndicated columnist. To find out more about her go to www.creators.com.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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