What Kind of People Like Mean?

Happy weekend eve, Friends,

Donald Trump is back at it. In front of a near-capacity crowd at a California amphitheater last night, Trump unleashed his full menu of personal insults of all his rivals, right down to his mocking the way John Kasich eats.

And the crowd loved it.

Of course, most sane people would see this as completely unacceptable for a presidential candidate. But beyond the despicable behavior of the candidate himself, I've got to question what kind of person eats this stuff up.

No one would deny that the spew emanating from Trump's mouth is incredibly mean spirited. If it were the late Jesse Helms saying this same drivel the country would be screaming bloody murder, much less be rallying around him to put him in the Oval Office.

Yet Trump had nearly 30,000 Californians adoring him at his rally last night. It's chilling to witness so many people so riled up knowing that there are many more like them.

So what do you think of this image of me? I like it. In fact, when I'm
president, my picture WILL be on the flag. Then, not only will my name be on
 all the big buildings, but you'll also see my face everywhere too.

No matter if Donald Trump is playing to the crowd or otherwise, the fact that he'd even consider not being thoughtful about everything he says and does in running for the world's most powerful position is a huge problem.

This is a man who acts like a brat in a schoolyard, and he's asking me to put my life in his hands. Expletive that expletive!

If behaving like a snotty little bully is just an act, employing this strategy shows worse judgment than Hillary Clinton ever has.

What's really disheartening to me is the huge number of his followers who are in reality as mean spirited as Trump is or is pretending to be. And many are quick to escalate to violence to defend him.

As the marketing expert he is, Trump found this sizable niche of the GOP and is pandering to it. The sad fact is that even if  he is playing, he's still either drawing his meanness from somewhere inside himself or he's nefarious enough to use the tactic as a tool.

Either way calls his character into question.

With Trump, I'll give him some credit.  I believe the xenophobia, misogyny and narcissism are genuine.

We've become a society who seeks 'disruption', and we'd get a really big disruption by electing someone who not only doesn't embody anything we've come to expect from a president, but doesn't even act like an adult.

What kind of people want to see an institution torn to shreds? If you look deep down you might find a little of it inside yourself. I know I do.

Characters like Trump are particularly dangerous because they draw it out.

When You Get Egg on Face, Make Custard

Good Thursday morning, Friends,

I really blew it yesterday. My prediction of what Ted Cruz's "big announcement" would be was way off (not to mention that my salutation said it was Thursday morning, not Wednesday!).

Oh well, such is the life of the pundit. Sometimes the egg hits you smack in the face, and you've just got to make some custard out of it and move on.

In a way, though, I think Ted Cruz would have been better off if my prediction had been correct, and he hadn't wound up announcing Carly Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate instead.

What do you mean it's all over? I've only been running for vice president for five days! 

I speculated that Cruz would get Marco Rubio's endorsement and 2/3 of his delegates who are unbound. That didn't happen, but it really could have helped.

Instead, Cruz presumptuously announced his selection of another loser as his VP, even though he's on the precipice of elimination from the race.

Fiorina's got to be as delusional as he is if she really believes Cruz stands any chance of getting the GOP nomination, even if by some remote possibility Donald Trump doesn't take it on the first convention vote.

This was a desperate attention sucking stunt by Cruz, in an attempt to snatch the narrative after taking a thorough stomping on Tuesday. To that extent, I admit it partially worked. The media is talking about it.

And I think Cruz may believe that Fiorina will be an asset in her home state of California, if the race gets beyond Indiana next week.

Polling in Indiana is notoriously bad, but information coming out of that state is that the race is very close. Trump, however, has the obvious momentum going in.

Aside from the visible hundred or so supporters in the audience surrounding Cruz and Fiorina who seemed excited when Cruz announced his running mate, the move is not having much of an impact on Indianans who've been interviewed by the media.

So, there are just five days until the Indiana primary, and if Donald Trump takes it as he most likely will, he virtually clinches the nomination.

I predict Trump will clinch in Indiana, and Carly Fiorina's vice presidential run will be the shortest one in history.

Loser Cruz to Make Big Announcement

Happy Wednesday, Friends,

Just as I predicted two days ago, Donald Trump had a YUGE night last night, sweeping all five primaries with double-digit leads over his runners up.

Bernie Sanders's results in the closed primaries were pretty dismal, as I also forecast yesterday, with the candidate winning only the open Rhode Island primary.

In this contest, Bernie's ability to pull in Independent voters was proven again and should give the Democratic party some pause.

But the math for Bernie has become virtually impossible, after Hillary Clinton won the other four primaries; three by double-digit margins.

He is now reassessing the direction of his campaign, which has enough money to stay in until the end but will probably be focused more on policy and less on winning the nomination.

Okay, so I don't want to be wearing this later today, but what fun is
being a pundit if you can't make a crazy prediction every once in awhile?

Meanwhile, Cruz and Kasich were absolutely trounced by Trump. He is now calling himself the presumptive nominee, and rightly so.

It's now become an open secret that Trump's rivals are running out of funds, and Indiana will be their last stand if Trump wins there on Tuesday.

He's anted up some real money on this one knowing how important it's become.

Trump's highly-anticipated scripted foreign policy speech, for which he's using a teleprompter, was set several days ago for this afternoon.

But Cruz tried to steal today's narrative this morning, holding an early news conference to announce that he has an announcement to make this afternoon at 4 p.m. EDT. Wow.

So here's what I think it is: I believe that Cruz will announce Marco Rubio's endorsement. Rubio is going to pledge his 100 or so unbound delegates to Cruz this afternoon, and he'll appear with Cruz in person to announce it.

I'm really sticking my neck out on this one, but when you're a pundit that's what you do.

For Cruz, it'll be a nice gesture but too little too late. Trump has a lock on the nomination, and I'm not sticking my neck out here.

I hope I'm right about Cruz's announcement. Making predictions is fun, but I hate having egg on my face.

Bernie's Not Giving Up...This Morning

Super Tuesday to you, Friends,

Though his path is as narrow as a razor's edge, The Bern is hanging tough and vows to fight on to the end. Oh, there is one caveat. His campaign says he may reconsider if he loses big tonight.

The thing is, Bernie Sanders may well lose all five states in today's contests, but because all of them award delegates proportionally, he may not take a knockout punch.

That means, a small loss tonight means Bernie will carry on.

It also means neither candidate will necessarily get enough committed delegates to win a first convention vote, setting up a contested convention.

That seems to be Bernie's best hope right now, and his strategy.

I'm getting frustrated. My voters want to vote for me, but they can't
even come to the polls. What's up with that?

Sanders' arguments in a contested convention would be shaky at present. Hillary Clinton has earned hundreds' more pledged delegates and millions' more actual votes.

With the California primary coming up, those numbers could change, albeit probably not significantly enough in Sanders' favor.

Presently, Bernie is propping up his continuing campaign on national polls showing his better positives than Hillary's, bigger leads over any Republican contender than she has, and his ability to pull in Independents and first-time voters.

All of today's contests except for Rhode Island are open to only party members, and these are the type of primaries that have thwarted Sanders. His strongest supporters and largest voting bloc, Independents, are excluded from voting in them.

Among registered Democrats, Bernie has not performed well, especially with African Americans and Latinos.

I don't know if the Sanders campaign has targeted a particular number of delegates they can afford to bleed and viably stay in the race. I suspect they have, and we may learn tonight what that level of pain is.

It will be fairly early when we'll know if the contests are close or are blowouts. All the opinion polls predict the latter, and if that proves true, Sanders will probably end his campaign.

Bernie has shown himself to be a formidable candidate and has powerfully steered the Democratic party to the left..

His numbers tonight will determine his role come tomorrow.

The Trouble with Hillary's Base

Happy work week, Friends,

I await tomorrow's northeast Super Tuesday with some anxiety. The candidate I favor in the Democratic race is almost certain to go down to defeat.

Hillary Clinton will likely clinch the Democratic nomination tomorrow, mathematically speaking, and Donald Trump will emerge as the presumptive Republican nominee barring any shenanigans by the GOP leadership.

What causes me more anxiety than anything else about tomorrow's presumed outcome is the significant difference between Hillary Clinton's supporters and Donald Trump's.

Donald Trump's supporters are genuine fans, which, by the way, is aptly short for 'fanatics'. Most Hillary supporters are lukewarm at best. And this will be especially true of Bernie Sanders backers who come into her camp.

Trump excites his base. I don't see that same enthusiasm for Hillary.

So Hill? Do you think your supporters love you like my supporters love me? They love
me Hill. Their love for me is YUGE!

Already nearly a forgone conclusion, the GOP nomination of Trump hands him the party's mainstream. They will turn out in loyal lockstep to vote for him in November, regardless of their current grumbling.

The same can't be said of the Dems for Mrs. Clinton.

With Hillary as their nominee, I'm betting the millions of first-time voters so inspired by Bernie Sanders don't even show up. Or worse yet, many of them throw their support to Trump.

With the minions of new voters he's brought to the table, together with the party's base, The Donald's support will be so formidable he really can't lose.

Maybe I'm not seeing something. Or maybe all the Dems, and all the Independent voters they need to be victorious in November, will rally around Hillary Clinton for fear of the alternative.

The latter is possible.

Now please excuse me while I go feed my flying pig.

Bernie Exits Gracefully

Good Sunday morning, Friends,

I just watched Bernie Sanders' exit interview on Meet the Press, and it was an emotional experience. He's now pretty much conceded that the math is impossible for him.

Bye bye everybody. I gave it the old college try but it turns out
I couldn't get enough poor people to vote for their own interests.

A massive win for The Bern is not going to happen on the northeast's Super Tuesday in two days, and that means the path to nomination, even with a YUGE win in California later, is virtually gone.

My heart hopes I'm so wrong about this, but my head tells me that Hillary Clinton is now almost certain to be the Democratic nominee.

Bernie's interview with Chuck Todd showed the candidate to be in a somber mood, but he reiterated most of his talking points, including this shocker: "Twenty Americans own more of the country's wealth than the bottom 150 million."

That's right; twenty--T-W-E-N-T-Y!

How can anyone say that is not absolutely obscene?

I can't see anything better happening to the middle class under either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, but again I hope I'm wrong.

I've said from day one that Trump would be the Republican nominee, but I never thought he could be President of the United States.

I don't believe that most of the millions of young people Bernie Sanders has brought into the Democratic tent will make any effort at all to vote for Hillary. They have no allegiance to her or affinity for her.

If most mainstream Republicans hold their noses and vote for Trump, and there's a low voter turnout because young voters stay home, Donald Trump will be our next president.

Again, I hope I'm wrong.

Our Country's Newest Great Shame

Good Friday morning, Friends,

I'm embarrassed to say I lived in North Carolina for 23 years. Both my sons were born and raised there and live there happily still.

My older one is starting to get politically involved, and I can't say I agree with his decision to support the GOP frontrunner. But that's certainly his right, and I support it.

I think, though, it's a bit symptomatic of what's going wrong in that state.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said it best this morning when asked about North Carolina's new law allowing legal discrimination against members of the LGBT community. Cameron said that his country's goal was "to eliminate all discrimination."

It's North Carolina on the phone. They're not too happy with something you said about them.

That can't be said of North Carolina's new law, or a virtually identical one passed in Mississippi.

The crazy thing is, I actually agree with what Donald Trump said yesterday about North Carolina's law, which, among other things, mandates that people use the public restroom of their sex at birth.

He said that things had been working fine. That, as far as he knew, there hadn't been any problems,
so what were they trying to fix?

Trump is now being roundly criticized for this statement by Ted Cruz, and Cruz actually seems to be gloating over what he perceives as some kind of conservative "gotcha" moment.

But that gotcha moment carries with it the admission that Cruz's position is one of being a proud bigot against a rather large segment of our society.

David Cameron is right about which direction the world should be moving.

Any kind of discrimination has always come out on the wrong side of history, and I'm certain both of the Democrats see it this way. Perhaps even Donald Trump does as well.

Institutionalized discrimination against an entire race of people was this country's greatest shame. Trying to do it again is its next.

One candidate, the so-called GOP mainstream one, actually supports it.

Pretty damn scary.

Will Nominee Trump Change His Tone?

Happy Thursday, Friends,

Next week will be a YUGE one for both parties and could very well be Bernie Sanders' Swan Song, but at the same time it could also remove any doubt about Donald Trump clinching the GOP nomination on the first vote.

So you thought I was kidding when I said I could be so presidential that I

could be the most presidential of anyone you've ever seen being

presidential. See how presidential I am? 

So what kind of candidate will Donald Trump be?

I think we'll see someone completely different.

Believe it or not, I just heard The Donald tell Matt Lauer that he believes in raising taxes on the wealthy "including himself." That is clearly NOT a Republican position.

I really believe that Trump is pretty equivalent to Hillary Clinton insofar as policy. He ought to be. He's contributed very significant money to the Clintons over the years, which he often references, and it's not because he disagrees with them.

Trump is the only Republican to announce he supports most of Planned Parenthood. This morning, he said he supports abortion to save the life of the mother. This is anathema to many in the GOP, even among his supporters, but no matter.

Trump is truly as Teflon with his base as the last celebrity who became president was with his.

He's now rehearsing policy speeches with a teleprompter; something he's mocked his rivals for using. And his public demeanor is subtly but noticeably changing.

Trump has shown himself to be an incredibly quick study, which one might expect of a Wharton Grad who's been so successful if at nothing else than in promoting himself and his brand

Trump might actually accomplish a feat no one has in a very long time. He may actually succeed in bringing the far-right wingnuts of the GOP squarely into the political middle, where he seems to be.

Whatever you now think about Donald Trump, remember it. You probably will be thinking differently about him come this fall.

Do not underestimate this man. You don't become a billionaire being stupid.

Trump Thumps, Bernie Berns

It's a sad morning, Friends,

Donald Trump did just as I predicted and pretty much swept all but about five of the 95 New York delegates, but Bernie! What happened?

When it all shakes out, Bernie Sanders will have dropped some 33 or so delegates to Hillary Clinton, and that's a tough one for his campaign to take, no matter how bright a face they try to put on it.

It's a loss he can ill afford.

Bernie's path to nomination now depends on landslide victories in the remaining states, and while possible, it doesn't seem likely.

A lot will depend on what happens in the Northeast Super Tuesday next week. If Bernie doesn't do extremely well in these five contests, it's over for him.

There is, however, another slim hope for the Sanders campaign.

Let's not forget that there are at least three active investigations of Hillary Clinton grinding away in the background. If the most serious of those bears fruit, Hillary is finished as a candidate.

In that Justice Department investigation, Bryan Pagliano, the Clinton aide who set up her private email server and who'd been shielding himself from criminal prosecution by taking the 5th Amendment, decided to spill the beans in exchange for immunity.

This could be a potential time bomb for Hillary.

But Clinton having to drop out of the race may not necessarily benefit Bernie Sanders. It's all about timing.

If her problems crop up after she is already nominated, the party is likely to bypass Sanders in favor of a more mainstream candidate...like Joe Biden.

Now this really gives me something to think about. What is Bryan Pagliano telling
the Justice Department, and why was he taking the 5th?

I believe this is one situation in which Biden would consider getting into the race. He'd certainly be looked at as the party'a healer as well as savior, and he'd have no problem handling Donald Trump in the general election.

Perhaps all the controversies swirling around in Hillary's background will amount to nothing, and Hillary Clinton will sail smoothly into the Oval Office as our nation's first female president.

Yeah right.

Good Day for Trump, Not Bad for Bernie, But What's Up with Kasich?

Good Primary Tuesday, Friends,

With voting underway in New York, today portends to be YUGE for Donald Trump, and I'm guessing better than predicted for Bernie Sanders.

But what the heck is up with John Kasich?

What do you mean that I look like I'm trying to decide whether to
poop or get off the pot? Give me a little more time please!

Here is a candidate who is spending all kinds of someone else's money to lose every contest he's been in, save for his own state.

He stands no chance of ever coming in better than a distant second place in every remaining state.

So why is Kasich still in the race?

If he's banking on being the nominee who emerges from a brokered convention, he's dreaming. Even voters in his own party think he's a total snooze, despite his otherwise impressive resume.

I've said all along that Trump will have enough votes to clinch the nomination on the first vote, and a brokered convention is just something to talk about to fill the 24-hour news cycle.

Today will be the proof of that pudding.

Trump has the potential to sweep all 95 New York delegates, and if that happens it's really time for Kasich to drop out of the race. This is especially true if his candidacy is only intended to be a Trump stopper.

Ted Cruz has a better, though slim, chance of stopping Trump on his own.

And if Cruz can prevent Donald Trump from attaining the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination, you can bet the GOP will not select either Cruz or Kasich to face off against the Democratic opponent in November.

I don't see it ever coming to this.

Taking Money From Wall Street, Does It Change Anything?

Happy work week, Friends,

Here's what I know. Money talks.

Are we really naive enough to swallow that Wall Street expects nothing in return for pumping millions of dollars into a candidate's coffers?

A message from Hillary Clinton: I want all my supporters to know
that I gladly accept as much money as I can from Wall Street because
 they're so nice. They never ask for anything in return.

Here's what they do expect. Wall Street expects a candidate to support a bankruptcy bill that forces people in dire straits from credit card debt to pay up. And that's exactly what Hillary Clinton did as a U.S. Senator.

Wall Street expects not to see legislation breaking up the enormous financial institutions responsible for causing us so much pain. And that's what we've gotten. And that's what the political establishment they fund will obediently continue to dish out.

Here's a simple question. Who would you prefer to represent the interests of us, the shrinking middle class, a candidate whose income was  $28.5 million last year from God knows what, or a candidate who earned less last year than a single speech his party-backed opponent gave to Goldman Sachs?

Wake up America!

Only two candidates are telling you you're getting screwed. Do you think they're lying?

Friends, they are telling you the absolute truth. But only one of those candidates has a lifelong track record of working for reform and doing exactly what he says he'll do to help the middle class.

I believe his time has finally come, and it's worth giving his ideas, which are truly just the Democratic party's principles of FDR and Harry Truman, a fair chance.

He's built a unimaginably successful campaign raising hundred of millions of dollars from small contributions and is beholden to no one but his individual supporters. This is nothing short of miraculous in a system tilted in favor of big donors and Super PACs.

Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump say the system is broken. I agree but don't want to see it fixed with a billionaire at its helm. Why would a rich narcissist be concerned about helping the likes of me?

The way forward is pretty clear.

Media Gives Hillary a Complete Pass

TGIF, Friends,

I watched the entire debate carefully last night between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but apparently I watched a different debate than the other pundits did.

The other pundits are praising Hillary Clinton's performance, while in my opinion she proved to be exactly what her critics say she is...slimy.

That's pretty darn funny. You really want me to release the transcripts of what I told
Goldman Sachs? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day.

There were three glaring examples, and several others, but I'll discuss the three most egregious. The first came early on, but I'll discuss that one last because is positively made me scream at the TV.

The second was when Hillary was asked a "Yes/No" question by Wolf Blitzer as to weather she would raise the ceiling on taxable Social Security earnings, which is currently $118,500. 

She simply could not answer with one word and tried to talk her way around it. Finally, Bernie Sanders was able to corner her into a reluctant yes.

The third example was Hillary making the surprising claim that she's been a strong supporter of a $15-an-hour minimum wage. 

She's clearly, until last night, been backing a federal minimum wage of $12 but came up with some cock and bull explanation of how she's been backing both. This also evoked a bit of sarcastic shock from Bernie and boos from the crowd.

But Hillary's worst 'gag me with a spoon' moment was when Dana Bash tried to question her about releasing the transcripts of those three speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs for $675,000.

Personally, I want to know what she told to the company so instrumental in putting us in the biggest economic fix since the Great Depression.

But Hillary would not answer the question. She deflected it by changing the subject to Bernie not yet releasing his tax returns and again invoking the lame excuse that she'd release her transcripts if all the other candidates release transcripts of their speeches.

That, by the way, was a tacit admission that the transcripts exist.

Dana Bash tried three times to get Hillary to answer her question but finally gave up. 

Yet this slimiest moment of the night is not even making the media's highlight reels, and Dana Bash and CNN haven't brought it up again since. 

There were several other Slippin' Hill flourishes during the debate, where the candidate looked completely flummoxed or was out maneuvered by Sanders. But this morning, the media is generally singing Hillary's praises.

It's pretty obvious to me who their darling is, and it's not the old guy in the room.

The Numbers Tell the Tale

Happy Thursday, Friends,

Deep in the lull between primary contests, something very interesting happened yesterday in New York that got a little press attention but not as much as it deserved.

There were two political rallies held in New York City by Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders respectively.

One of the rallies got a smallish crowd of 1,200 stalwarts who loyally attended and listened politely. The other drew 27,000 enthusiastic, loud, young, motivated liberal Democrats, many of whom were first-time voters who hung on every word the candidate uttered.

You think this crowd is yuge? This is nothing compared to what I got in Greenwich Village
yesterday. That crowd was YUGE!

Need I even pose the question of which rally was whose?

Okay, assuming you know nothing about this presidential race and have no idea which way the momentum is going, the 27,000 belonged to challenger to the throne Bernie Sanders.

The numbers don't lie.

Hillary is not the popular candidate, at least in New York City.

The question is, will she lose her ninth contest out of the last 10 to the candidate the media is so anxious to dismiss?

I believe this primary a lot closer than the double-digit Clinton lead in polls taken more than a week ago.

New York is really a make or break primary for Sanders, and he must win to have any real chance of getting the party's nomination. Otherwise, the most Bernie can hope for is to have some influence on the party's platform.

I believe a lot can happen between now and Tuesday, and New York will ultimately feel The Bern.

What will the media be saying about Sanders then?

Losing the American Dream

Good morning again, Friends,

We're in the biggest political lull in months, with no major contest until New York next Tuesday. By political standards, that's nearly half a year.

Amidst the quiet, this morning The New York Daily News, that venerable middle-of-the-road tabloid, gave its endorsement to Hillary Clinton.

I understand their safe choice, but at the same time it left me feeling sad and empty.

Are we really in for another four years where I still will not realize the American dream?

Yes, I'm one of those tail-end baby boomers who've been affected most by America's boom/bust cycles and can honestly say that the fabled American Dream never really visited me.

Dreams were never made to come true. Didn't Aunt Hillary tell
you that?

I tried to do everything right. I worked hard for forty years, paid my bills and taxes, and played by the rules. But I seemed to be caught in every economic downturn that happened with near-predictable regularity.

Along with millions of others in my same boat, whenever the playing field tilted, it seemed that I was with them on the downhill end.

I'm not whining about it or complaining. Compared to the rest of the world, Americans in my boat are fantastically wealthy.

But what bothers me about the Daily News' endorsement is that it's just another turd in the punch bowl. We're being told to settle for the same old same old.

I don't want the dream to die. I'm an American dammit! I want to continue to believe this country can think big and inspire us.

As I see it, only two candidates can lay any claim to  being the agents of genuine change, and between them the choice is very clear.

One would be an American nightmare. The other personifies the true American Dream.

Elections Make Odd Bedfellows

Good  Monday morning, Friends,

Someone totally new is feeling The Bern, and it's none other than Donald Trump. He's come out publicly supporting Sanders.

What this is all about is Trump's whining over the primary rules, which both parties have long had in place. Trump is magnanimously declaring that his Dem opponent is being shafted even more by the rules than he is.

Things are getting pretty cozy between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. The Donald
claims he's feeling Sanders' pain, but maybe he's really just feeling The Bern.

Trump is telling his own followers that Bernie keeps winning and winning, but by the rules, Hillary Clinton is getting more delegates than Sanders is.

This happens to be true, but you don't hear Sanders complaining very much because he knew and agreed to the arcane rules tilted in Hillary's favor going in. Bernie is counting on his building and sweeping momentum to carry him to the nomination.

It's very strange to hear Trump supporting an opponent, and probably the most formidable one at that, but few things he does have no ulterior motive.

So what might it be?

At the moment, Trump's lack of organization has given Ted Cruz and his superior political skills an opening to outplay him. Cruz's organization blindsided Trump yesterday in Colorado and cost the frontrunner 34 delegates.

Momentum, that all-important intangible, is clearly with Cruz, but Trump is counting on New York to stop it with blunt force and turn it around. That may well happen a week from tomorrow.

If not, and New York and the rest of the East Coast doesn't go well for Trump, he'll be looking for some cover. Donald Trump is a big winner after all. But not even a big winner like him can attain victory if the cards are unfairly stacked against him.

Clearly, The Donald is setting the stage for this contingency. By complaining now that the rules prevent him from getting the GOP nomination fairly and squarely, he's off the hook. He is still a winner, saves face and, above all, his brand.

I'm doubling-down on the Cruz challenge being more smoke and mirrors created by the 24-hour news cycle, and Trump will clinch the 1,237 votes he needs prior to the Cleveland convention.

But Trump's actions do show that he's a little rattled.

What Are New York Values, Ted?

Good evening, Friends,

I grew up in Teaneck, NJ, less than five miles from Manhattan, and my dad always worked in New York City. I think I have New York Values, and I'm damn proud of them.

My values clash with those of Ted Cruz because I'm a liberal Democrat and would never vote for him. I'll also put my secular humanist values up against his any time.

But I also agree with well-known commentator and Jewish lawyer Jeffrey Toobin that 'New York Values' have always been code for an anti-Semitic slam,

Ted Cruz has gone over the top in trying to prove that he loves Israel and the Jews:
just not so much if they live in the United States

Does this mean  Cruz is anti-Semitic? 

Well, it depends on what you mean by that.

Ted Cruz is definitely a strong supporter of Israel. But Evangelical Christians like Ted have an ulterior motive. Their End of Days belief that all Jews must return to Israel before The Rapture can happen requires that Israel survive.

It also means that all the Jews will have to die, and this might be considered a little anti-Semitic.

I can tell you first-hand that Israelis' attitude toward the Ted Cruzes of this world is that they don't trust them one iota, but they'll accept their much-needed money. 

I believe the values of New York that Cruz disdains so much are espoused mainly by liberal Jewish Democratic politicians, like dare I say, Bernie Sanders?

If Cruz doesn't actually dislike Jews, his gross attempts to pander to New York Jewish groups show him to be what Donald Trump calls him, and I don't need to repeat it.

If there is a God, I don't think he'd let Ted Cruz be president.

What Hardcore Dems Fear Most

I'm back, Friends,

Our move to Las Vegas was arduous, but we're here in one piece with all of our stuff, save for only one crappy little K-Mart bookshelf broken into pieces.

Hey, we have some view from our bedroom window. Just kidding,
but Vegas is fantastic no matter which way you look at it!

It is great to be back in this town. And the drive here from Bellingham, WA reminded me of just how beautiful and enormous this country really is. Driving across this country first horizontally and then vertically puts things in perspective, and I suggest everyone do it at least once.

All this talk of  my driving of late segues nicely into blogging about a conversation I had in my little red MG the other day with a lifelong Democrat whom I admire very much.

We rarely talk about politics, but the subject of Bernie Sanders' recent successes came up, and I sensed a bit of fear begin to well up in him.

He readily admitted Bernie was the inspirational candidate of the two Dems remaining, and that Hillary Clinton's credo of 'think small and get things done' resonates only with the very oldest of the die-hards. But he held to the belief that a Socialist will never be elected president.

And this could mean only one thing if Bernie Sanders gets the nomination--Ted Cruz, God forbid, will be the next president. This is the most frightening thing that could ever happen: a veritable doomsday.

I believe, however, the outcome would be very different.

The thing is, very few voters under the age of 30 even know what a Socialist is. If Sanders were branded with a hammer and sickle as Donald Trump says he'd do, it would have no meaning at all to millions of first-time voters who've felt The Bern.

Putting a label on Bernie would have about as much impact at this point as $600 million did on the Jeb Bush campaign.

Telling people to tone down their dreams and aspirations was never a sure-fire way to win an election. Jimmy Carter remembers well what telling the American public to suck it up and lower their expectations did for his presidency.

Hillary Clinton does nothing to inspire us. That should be the Democrats' biggest fear.

Better Call Slippin' Hill

Hi from the road Friends,

We're just hours away from our new home in Las Vegas, and decided to pull in for the night in Wells, NV, about 365 miles away. Tomorrow will be day three, and our two kitties are making it throught the trip okay. We should arrive at our new address by late afternoon.

My wife and I have stayed pretty much away from each other's throats, though we've had our moments. And despite a missed turn in Idaho today, and a few hairy moments making a u-turn and getting back into the left lane of Interstate 84, which has a speed limit of 80, the drive has gone well.

On this April Fool's Day, Donald Trump actually seems to be behind Ted Cruz in Wisconsin. He may very well lose there on Tuesday, thanks to former presidential candidate Governor Scott Walker backing Cruz. It doesn't matter, Trump will still win the nomination handily.

If you need a lawyer, don't call me. You'd better call Hill. No, on
second thought, you'd better call me.

I wanted to take a moment to talk about this attorney I know. As with most lawyers, this particular attorney has the reputation for flat out telling people anything they want to hear. But unlike other many other lawyers, this one simply tells flagrant lies when the situation so dictates.

Sound familiar? Perhaps.

This attorney was known in the past to pull so many shenanigans earning him the nickname of Slippin' Jimmy.

Many of you may know I'm talking about Jimmy McGill, better known as Saul Goodman of Better Call Saul and formerly Breaking Bad, two of my favorite TV shows ever.

It occurred to me that there's another attorney who's earned the Slippin' moniker. This one is also in politics and she's slippin' in so many different ways. Slippin' Hill is not only slipping in momentum to Bernie Sanders, but she's slipping in the national polls, which show Sanders beating her.

It doesn't help her cause that it came out today she's accepted millions in campaign contributions from representatives of the oil and gas industry.

I've stuck with Sanders as my prediction for Democratic nominee since the very beginning and when most of the other pundits said he was through.

I think I'm looking more correct every day, and Sanders will be winning Wisconsin on Tuesday and New York on April 19.

No April Fools.