Trump Caught in Baldfaced Lie -- Polls Are Up

Good Super Tuesday eve Friends,

Talking with CNN's Jake Tapper yesterday, Donald Trump refused to disavow an endorsement from former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, and stated plainly, "I don't know who David Duke is."

Even though that was patently absurd, Trump doubled down on his lie this morning, telling NBC that he had a bad earpiece, and when Jake Tapper asked about David Duke, he heard "various groups."

I guess that's why he repeated David Duke's name.

Hey, pssst, do you know who that David Duke guy is? My bud Donald Trump says he
doesn't know him.

Congratulations Donald Trump. You are now officially a lying politician and as bad as all the rest of them, save Bernie Sanders, and it will only help you.

This morning's latest national poll shows The Donald with 49% of the GOP vote...his highest numbers yet. I live in a country where about 25% of the voters have gone stark-raving mad. They have no clue how masterfully they're being manipulated.

Trump is proving what he earlier said, was roundly criticized for and subsequently picked up more support, "I could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue, and I wouldn't lose votes."

A man who lies this easily may have told NBC's Lester Holt that he'll be totally different as president than he is as a candidate, but, obviously, he lies. You can't believe anything he says.

I'm surprised he's been able to conduct business so successfully, now that we're discovering he can glibly dish out BS as easily as say something true. This is a scary thing folks. 

This is called pathology and it doesn't belong in the White House. The unfortunate thing is, it's much the same with the current frontrunner in the opposing party.

I hope we don't vote ourselves into a corner we can't get out of. As I see it, there are only two completely honest candidates still in this race. 

The GOP entrant, Ben Carson, doesn't stand a chance. That leaves just one, and after South Carolina, Bernie's looking pretty shaky.

The game will be over for the Republicans soon. If not tomorrow night, Lying Donald will be the obvious nominee on March 15th. 

For the Democrats, Super Tuesday will probably serve to cloud the picture between The Bern and Hillary Clinton. 

  

Hillary SC Landslide to Keep Bloomberg on Sidelines

Good Sunday morning Friends,

Yesterday's South Carolina massacre of Bernie Sanders by Hillary Clinton virtually guarantees that the 2016 general election for president will be between just two candidates.

Thanks to the Yuge victory that foreshadows a Clinton nomination this July in Philadelphia, I forecast that former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg will sit out of the race as an independent candidate.

How could you not vote for this face? Sorry folks, I'm out.

Bloomberg announced several weeks ago that should the apparent nominees be Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, he would run as a third-party candidate.

But Mayor Bloomberg has only until the end of Wednesday to either file for election or not be on the ballot in all 50 states, a surefire recipe for losing.

The astute business magnate won't risk the billion dollars he announced he'd spend on his campaign on a bad bet.

After the stomping Bernie Sanders took in South Carolina yesterday, thanks to Hillary corralling more than 86% of the black vote, it's looking pretty gloomy for The Bern, especially in the South.

His message isn't getting through to black voters, aside from millennials. And black establishment Democrats are the most cohesive and formidable bloc of voters in the South. A candidate can't win without it's support.

Though South Carolina portends poorly for Bernie in the rest of the South, victories for him elsewhere such as California, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and Massachusetts, will mean Hillary can't get enough delegates to win on a first convention vote.

Then we'll see a brokered convention, and all bets are off.

And let us not forget Hillary's legal problems lurking in the shadows. They could rear their ugly heads at any time.

It's getting interesting folks. Put on your seatbelts, Super Tuesday is less than 48 hours away.

 

Trump Offers Christie AG Job to Destroy Rubio

Good weekend Friends,

Yesterday, in a complete shocker, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie threw his support to Donald Trump and showed up to introduce the frontrunner at one of The Donald's mega rallies.

Why?

Well, Christie's support gives Trump two things: instant credibility within the GOP establishment, and the most potent tool to tear his closest challenger, Marco Rubio, to shreds.

Christie has been getting under Rubio's skin since early on in the debates, and had been the one candidate to cause Rubio to have a near breakdown on stage. He's a natural choice for The Donald to court, and he obviously did.

What did he offer Christie?

The Attorney General's job, and God help us if he gets it.

Oh yeah! Call me fat, and I'll take away your weed!

Christie has already stated that he'd bring back the bad-old-days of the war on drugs...specifically marijuana. Just ask folks in Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, and here in Washington state how they'd feel about that.

In this state, the tax revenue generated from legal weed has already been incorporated into the state budget as an integral part of the state's general revenue fund.

Christie wants to outlaw this legitimate source of sorely-needed money based on his total ignorance and refusal to learn about a perfectly natural herb that millions are finding to be an absolute Godsend.

Yet a man who's killing himself by self-medicating with Krispy Kreme donuts, would begrudge others their own virtually harmless--no, positively beneficial path. His policies would force millions of  the suffering to become criminals as well.

Having Chris Christie as US Attorney General would be a dark day for this country. With Donald Trump  as president, I believe the curtains will come down.

What Would a Donald Trump World Look Like?

Happy Friday to you Friends,

Donald Trump took a pummeling from Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in last night's GOP debate, but showed he could take a punch, even though his legs noticeably wobbled a couple of times.

I thought Rubio came off like a smarmy teenager, looking for any opening to throw a well-rehearsed roundhouse at the frontrunner.

Pointing out that The Donald repeats himself at least as much as Rubio does, the young senator had that nervous gloat of a child who had just gotten away with crtiicizing an elder. His rivulets of perspiration gave away his discomfort.

Standing to Trump's other side, Ted Cruz also availed himself of every opportunity to take the billionaire down.

These guys were so tough on Trump last night, he didn't even have the chance to bring
this up.

Both opponents railed at The Donald for employing 1,000 Polish workers illegally--some 30 years ago per Trump's counter argument, and for an active civil lawsuit by former students of the now-defunct Trump University.

Cruz, channeling the bad-old-days of Eugene McCarthy, accused Trump of covering up fraud because he still hadn't released his tax returns.

The irony here is that not one other GOP candidate has yet made his tax returns public, nor is it customary to do so this early in the process.

Through it all, Trump maintained a degree of equanimity that befitted someone who’s likely to face many similar situations, perhaps in a much more important capacity.

And that brings us to today’s topic: what would the world be like under a Donald Trump presidency?

The answer to that is; probably pretty similar to the way it is now. 

If you wade through a lot of Trump's rhetoric, his actual policies seem pretty middle of the road. Little wonder he's given so much money to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, over the years.

Most likely, Trump didn't give that money to influence the party to make a big move to the right. More likely, he wanted policies that were already in place to be maintained or enhanced..

No one can honestly say he or she knows where The Donald is coming from. He seems to be shredding longstanding GOP doctrine with every subsequent debate. He likes Planned Parenthood and health care for everyone. He thinks George W. Bush wrecked the country.

And now he's been endorsed by Blue State moderate Republican Governor Chris Christie. So, he's got a big chunk of the GOP establishment solidly behind him.

I believe Trump would be the least likely Republican candidate in the field to support the party's full pantheon of back-pedaling ideas.

He may handle the economy well, though rumors run the gamut regarding how he's treated the "tens of thousands of people he's hired."   

If we can trust what The Donald says, there is at least one thing we know for certain about a Donald Trump World; at least nobody will be dying in the streets...unless he's shooting them on 5th  

Avenue.

No Transcripts for You

Hello again Friends,

I apologize for skipping a post yesterday, but I have a valid excuse.

I had the privilege of spending my day in Olympia, Washington, the state's capital, meeting with state senators and representatives. I had fully intended to write this post on the three-hour car trip from Bellingham that began at 4:30 in the morning, but you know how it goes.

I was in Olympia to help lobby legislators on a state issue that has nothing to do with national politics, and it was my first time in the state capital. What a stunningly beautiful place it is!

It's like a 3/4-scale version of Washington, D.C. set in the picturesque and verdant beauty of the great Northwest. If you ever get a chance to visit this part of the country, take it.

Yesterday in Olympia, WA. The rainbow in the upper right is not photoshopped. It's the real deal,

On the matter of politics, I refer back to the night before last and the Democratic town meeting. While both candidates argued their cases competently, Hillary Clinton again drummed home the reason people don't trust her.

The issue of those three speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs for $675,000 came up immediately.

Bernie Sanders had called for Hillary to make the transcripts public 20 days ago.  But Hillary deflected the issue with some well-planned but absurd rationale to keep them away from the public eye.

Her argument went something like this: "Why am I held to a different standard than the other candidates? I'll release the transcripts when all the other candidates release the transcripts of  the speeches they've made."

Hillary, of course, is the only candidate known to have given speeches to Goldman Sachs, and once again, she came off looking like she had something to hide.

A colleague of mine suggested that perhaps its because the inside language that's sometimes used in these types of private gatherings, though basically innocent, would be misconstrued by the public. Kind of like Mitt Romney's 47% remark that probably lost him the election?

Whatever the reason Hillary's being sneaky this time, we probably won't find out easily, if ever.

I hope the voters won't let her get away with it. But in a year of Teflon frontrunners, Hillary's shadiness may not hurt her enough to stop her.

Bernie to Play Tougher

Top of the day to you Friends,

While Nevada caucuses for a GOP nominee, the Democrats will be holding another town meeting this evening. Word is, we will see Bernie Sanders take the gloves off.

It's been 18 days since The Bern's campaign called for Hillary Clinton to release the transcripts of three speeches she made to Goldman-Sachs in exchange for $675,000.

While Hillary claims she has nothing to hide and that she simply hasn't released the transcripts because the voters aren't interested in them, the Sanders campaign will reportedly be pressing the issue harder tonight when the candidates meet the public.

Just ask my good friend Spike Lee. When I'm  in the White House, I'll do the right thing!

Hillary claims that the tens of millions of dollars she's received in campaign contributions from Wall Street--its too-big-to-fail firms responsible for the economy's 2008 collapse--have had no influence on her.

She says, she's never changed a vote over quid pro quo.

That may be true. But the influence is there, nonetheless, in a far more subtle way. It influences her total agenda.

It pillories Hillary into eschewing more-lofty goals...goals like Bernie's. Hillary tells us not to think big, not to dream, to reach only for low-hanging fruit.

I'm sorry, but it appears she's lowering our expectations because her buddies control most of the money, and she's committed not to mess with their rice bowl.

This is not the Democratic party that I signed on for. The party of Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern stood for ideals, not expediency.

Remember me? I actually stood for
something. Just like Bernie, 

It's no wonder Sanders' message of hope and change resonates so strongly with younger voters. They have their whole lives ahead of them.

They don't want to be told that a political revolution is neither realistic nor possible by someone at the short end of life; especially not one with trust issues.

It's down to crunch time, and Bernie needs the young generation to step up en masse, as they did during the civil rights and Vietnam eras, and create a more egalitarian future. He'll need to motivate and mobilize them even more now.

Expect to see Bernie press Hillary hard over her cozy relationship with what he sees as the source of all economic evil.

He's also started calling Hillary out for co-opting his message after he read yesterday's post (a regular reader of this blog, Bernie is even quoting my line that, 'he thought he was watching his own commercial').

Don't pay attention to the TV pundits. This race isn't over yet. It's just beginning.

Hillary Co-opts Everything Bermie

Good Monday morning Friends,

I just saw my first political TV ad this season. It was for Hillary Clinton. But it might as well have been an ad for Bernie Sanders.

Message-less herself, Hillary the political chameleon stole his message and was using it as her own.

I used to hold the Clinton administration in memory with great fondness, but every time I see Hillary being so slimy, it chips away at it. Pretty soon, there won't be much left.

What Hillary's done is to take every one of Bernie's talking points--fixing the Wall Street-rigged economy, free public college, universal health care, etc.--put her Debbie Downer spin on them, and then use them as her commercial.

Morgan Freeman's avuncular voice behind the spot was supposed to give me that feel-good tingle. The only feeling I got was a twinge of nausea.

Just call me by my middle name, Dulcet.

Hillary treats voters like they're stupid and gullible. And, quite frankly, by wrapping herself in Obama to pander to the large chunk of the party's non-white southern demographic, she's aiming her disingenuous 'message' at the less educated and more easily led of her party.

Bernie's intellectual arguments aren't likely to resonate as well with this group, simply because they are intellectual arguments. Notwithstanding, he'd be a much stronger advocate for these constituents.

I hope Bernie can at least close the gap in South Carolina's Saturday primary to single digits. This way he bounces into Super Tuesday with some momentum.

I think Bernie's up against some pretty stiff odds, Virtually the entire party leadership is steadfastly backing his opponent.

What no one's talking about this week, though, is Hillary's multitude of  legal challenges still lurking just beneath the surface. At least three inquiries are ongoing.

What happens when they rear their ugly head? Believe me, they have not been forgotten.

Trump Needs Cruz to Stay in Race for Now

Hello again Friends,

Right now, Ted Cruz may be the best friend Donald Trump has.

With Cruz in the race, the two are commanding nearly a super majority, and Trump has a double-digit plurality. This enduring plurality was enough to garner all of South Carolina's delegates for Trump.

I'm the Trump! I'm the Trump! Nobody beats me! I'm
the Trump!

And from here on, even if we come down to a three-way race, it'll be pretty much rinse, lather, and repeat for Trump.

By just maintaining the status quo, he'll collect enough delegates to win the nomination.

With Cruz vowing to stay in the race, he's cementing victory for his "rival" and a spot on the Trump ticket for himself.

I've been saying this from day one of this blog. And you may have noticed that today's headlines in every major newspaper mirror what I've been forecasting about the GOP nomination for the past six weeks.

There's no way now Trump will not be the GOP nominee, if he stays breathing.

I'm kind of gloating after yesterday's primary. It's brightening an otherwise gray and rainy day in northwest Washington.

Black Voters Hand NV to Hillary, But Can She Keep Them?

Happy Sunday Friends,

Good news and bad news for Hillary Clinton. The good news is that she took the Nevada Caucus by just over 5%. The bad news is that she lost the Latino and the youth vote, and only eeked out a victory by sweeping the African American vote.

This could be problematic for Bernie Sanders down the road, and ironic since his message is clearly aimed at the victims of our rigged economy, and black Americans have suffered more than any other ethnic group.

The Clintons have always been a favorite of the Black community, especially within the political establishment, and as we observed in Nevada and the upcoming South Carolina primary, they have fallen in line behind Hillary.

Even someone I really respected, civil rights champion Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, acted like a complete hack when he announced on national TV that he didn't remember Bernie Sanders being there, when Lewis led the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960's.

A vote for Bernie Sanders is not like a box of chocolates. 

He did, however, remember the Clintons.

Lewis failed to mention that Sanders worked with CORE, not SNCC, and had been one of the few white men arrested while protesting for black civil rights. The Congressman later apologized to Sanders for his insinuation.


I still believe Bernie's message will begin to resonate with the African American community. You can already see it happening among Black youth, just as it is with youth in general.

Sanders doesn't need a majority of the Black vote to win, He just needs some of it. He was virtually shut out in Nevada, and if history repeats in South Carolina, Bernie will be resoundingly defeated there.

I don't expect him to win next Sunday, but if Sanders can replicate some of what he did with Latino voters in Nevada with Black Voters in South Carolina, he'll have a respectable showing and some genuine momentum moving into Super Tuesday on March 1.

Feeling The Bern has been a contagious phenomenon. I don't see that ending or even slowing down.

Let's Play The Hillary Game

Hello again Friends,

It's time to play a little bit, and I hope you'll join in.

This happened yesterday.

Scott Pelley: You talk about leveling with the American people, have you always told the truth?

Hillary Clinton: I've always tried to.

Say WHAT?

Okay, so here's the game. Help finish Hillary's sentence.

I've always tried to tell the truth, but...

I've always tried to, but...

It didn't make sense at the time, or

I'm not known for my great effort.

I think you get the idea, and I bid you good wit!

Unholy Alliance Holds Majority of Votes in SC

TGIF Friends,

It's the day before the Republican primary in South Carolina, and the race is tightening up. Donald Trump's lead, according to one poll, is a mere 5% and shrinking.

But who's crawling up his posterior? It's not Marco Rubio, John Kasich, or Jeb! Bush. No, they continue to battle for third place under some kind of delusion that a strong third-place finish in every state will get you the nomination. It won't.

No, in second place with a bullet is none other than the alternate wingnut in the GOP race...Senator Ted Cruz; a man who doesn't have one endorsement from any of his colleagues.

Here is a man who's early in the game playing some nasty tricks on his primary opponents, like distributing a photoshopped picture of Marco Rubio shaking President Obama's hand and beaming.

His campaign staff spread false rumors that Ben Carson had dropped out of the race just days before the Iowa Caucuses, possibly influencing some voters to stay home.

And Cruz pulls all his ethically questionably moves while propping himself up on his Bible, making him far worse than your garden-variety hypocrite in my opinion.

Ted Cruz is moving up in the polls in South Carolina. Donald Trump is filing
a lawsuit claiming the unfair advantage of his opponent's prior celebrity.

But the point of today's post is not about how sketchy Ted Cruz's morality is.

Today's post is about my observation, which nobody seems to be talking about, that between Cruz and Donald Trump is a combined 51% bloc of the South Carolina Republican electorate,

That's a majority, and if you throw in the 6% of  votes that fringe candidate Ben Carson will garner, there's a big majority of voters who don't want to see an establishment candidate.

This is very bad news for Rubio, Kasich, and Bush.

If this trend continues nationally, a route to victory for any of these "establishment" candidates is virtually impossible--and actually impossible if they all stay in the race.

Meantime, even though the rhetoric between Cruz and Trump has been pretty vitriolic lately, it's got to be obvious to the mother of all deal makers that the two of them control an invincible block.

I believe they've already struck a deal.

I stand by my original prediction that the two of them will wind up on the same ticket. You'll be seeing Trump/Cruz bumper stickers in September.

In Desperation, Hillary Blames Flagging Support on Gender

Good Thursday Friends,

I woke up this morning to a Vogue Magazine interview with Hillary Clinton, in which she said something that seems to be the genesis of what she's going to be using as her excuse for losing the Democratic nomination to Bernie Sanders.

Hillary told Vogue that she believes the country may not be ready for a woman president.

Now this is a curious thing to say for a candidate who anticipates a win. It can only be an excuse for losing, and it takes the responsibility for that loss off of her.

Being the best candidate who lost because of something she couldn't control will be her way of accepting what happened while, in truth, denying what happened.

I spend so much time at these inquiries. I bet if I were president they would stop.

But more significantly, it indicates to me that Hillary does now at least on some level expect to lose. I agree with her.

But I don't agree that it's because the country's not ready for a woman president. We're just not ready for her.

In the same interview, Secretary Clinton mentioned how bad she was at promoting herself and how difficult it was for her to do it. It comes across...as insincerity.

And 'sincerity' is a quality for which Hillary loses big to Bernie Sanders--that and honesty. It's not because she's a woman.

I think the country is ready for any really solid candidate regardless, obviously, of race. And, sorry Hillary, regardless of gender,

Prez's Attack on Trump Assures Two Things

Mid-week greetings Friends,

I've been following politics for more years than I'll admit, and never have I seen a sitting president go after an opposing party candidate as Barack Obama did with Donald Trump yesterday.

The president went on a rant against the GOP frontrunner, as you're probably already aware, that in this crazy political climate will do nothing but help The Donald. It seemed to be exactly what Trump would have hoped for, to sweep him to his party's nomination.

It was a gift.

And, I believe Obama knew exactly what he was doing.

You just keep believing I'm an idiot, while I win us our third straight presidential race!

Here's the logic. The president believes that Trump's support is extremely strong but only enough of a plurality to secure the GOP nomination. As Obama himself stated yesterday, "There's no way that Donald Trump can be elected president."

That's most likely true. I also don't believe that a majority of American voters have gone so bat-crap crazy they'd ever elect a carnival barker as the world's most powerful person.

Believing that Trump stands possibly the least chance of any Republican to beat Obama's favored but damaged nominee, Hillary Clinton, he tacitly supports Trump. Or perhaps, as we witnessed yesterday, actively.

If there's one thing at which I believe our president excels, it's rough and tumble politics.

Think not? Then, explain how he rose from freshman senator to president having the worst handicap of any candidate in US history?  Need I say what that handicap was/is?

So watch for the Democrats to not-so-subtly steer the GOP nomination to the candidate they'd most love to hate.

If it ever comes down to a Trump/Clinton race, even Dems who can't stand her would hold their collective nose and tick the Hillary box.

I'm praying I've been right, and that box will have Bernie Sanders' name next to it instead.

She's Insulting Our Intelligence Again

Good Tuesday to you Friends,

I really can't stand it when someone tells me a lie to my face and smiles at me. It irks me even more when the lie is so obvious it's insulting to my intelligence.

That's what I find so loathsome about Hillary Clinton.

Hear me out. On the one hand, Hillary tells us with a smile on her face that the tens of  millions of dollars she's taken, and continues to take from Wall Street, have no impact on how tough she'll be as president on their egregious corruption.

No impact. Really?

Remember, a vote for Bernie is a vote for Hillary. Hey, money talks, B.S, walks....
Bernie Sanders, that is.

We're now finding out how stacked the Democratic primaries are in Hillary's favor due to non-committed "Super Delegates," who march to party orders--not to the voters'.

These delegates are stationed throughout all the states to put the brakes on upstart candidates.

The effect of these Super Delegates has already been quite chilling. Even though Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary by a 60% to 38% stomping, he got just half the state's delegates. Hillary got the other half.

I'd say that's stacked.

But why is that?

Perhaps it's because last year Hillary Clinton raised $35 million for the Democratic party, and Bernie
Sanders raised a measley $1,000.

So Hillary, are you now going to tell us that your fundraising for the party had no impact on them skewing the rules in your favor over Bernie Sanders'?

I think that you probably will, and  then expect us to swallow it.

Guess what, Hill? We're not all White House interns.

GOP Delusional Over SCOTUS Appointment

Happy Day Friends,

I'm truly sorry when someone like Justice Antonin Scalia dies, even though I honestly despised virtually all of his Supreme Court opinions.

In my own opinion, Scalia needed to retire years ago.

His passing now, is like the coup de gras to all the crap he's handed Democrats over oh so many years, by throwing a big monkey wrench into President Obama's final year in office.

Justice Antonin Scalia arguing during a recent Supreme Court session  that
despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, he believes that size does indeed matter.

Obama is facing a rough and tumble fight over Scalia's replacement that he didn't anticipate.

I'm going to avoid the main discussion about GOP threats to filibuster any of Obama's appointments that come before the senate for approval, and cut to the chase of today's blog.

Get real, GOP! Scalia's replacement is going to be made by either this Democratic administration, one just like it, or one far more to the left of it.

A Republican stands a snowball's chance in my 85-year-old mother's house in Boca of winning this presidential election...any Republican.

Unless they intend to hijack the Republican Convention this summer, there's nothing the GOP leadership can do to stop the steamroller named Donald Trump. And Trump will not possibly be the next president.

So whether or not the Republicans approve a SCOTUS nominee that's certain to emanate from this White House within the next six weeks, is more or less a moot point.

The next justice is more likely become part of the liberal block of four than the opposing conservative four.

We'll now get to see just how stinky Republicans are willing to be. Better for them to accept the inevitable soon and wind up smelling like a rose.

This Year Especially, Nice Guys Finish Last

Happy Sunday Friends,

I hope you watched both debates this weekend. If you did, you probably noticed the difference in tenor between the two. It really pointed up the disparity in sophistication between the two parties, but that's been hashed and rehashed and it's not what I'm going to talk about this morning.

What I'd like to talk about today is Ohio Gov.John Kasich's decision to rise above the fray and be the only positive voice among the six remaining GOP candidates. He's decided that he will not get involved in the general melee his opponents apparently favor.

We can do this without being negative.
Whaddya mean we can't? Screw you!

While they tear each other apart, Kasich is determined to bite his tongue until he can calmly interject something positive. Like a candidate of old, Kasich is pledging to take the high road and see where it leads.

Hate to say it, but I think it will lead him straight to the agony of defeat.

Governor Kasich is up against an electorate that wants blood after seven years of a rabid liberal Democrat in the White House who, oh yeah, happens not to be white like most of them.

Kasich is nothing if not the quintessential establishment policy wonk and generally good guy, who has the demeanor and experience which in a normal year would make for a pretty good presidential candidate.

And there is a chance, if the voters were to come to their senses, Kasich could be their nominee. But I don't think it will happen.

If you combine the South Carolina poll numbers of fringe candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, you have a healthy majority of 52+%.

I've said since the second post on this blog that Trump and Cruz will bury the hatchet and team up, and there's no way any of the remaining establishment-leaning candidates can find a way to put together the kind of numbers needed to defeat them.

That means, Kasich's Mr. Nice Guy will go down in flames, just like in the old saying. I guess even the most hackneyed adage has some basis in truth.

In this instance, it would make me almost as happy to be wrong.

To Everything, There Is a Season

Happy Friday Friends,

First of all, I want to thank the many of you who are reading my blog and invite you to comment on it freely. I promise I'l personally reply to every one I receive (until that wonderful day they become too overwhelming), and I will always be respectful of your point of view.

Most people who know me, know that my favorite saying is, "Trees are overrated."

Trees kill more people each year than heart attacks, cancer and car accidents combined!

My second is, "Timing is everything."

You can be the most talented person in the world, but if you appear on the scene at the wrong time, the world will probably never find out about it. I've seen this over and over again in my lifetime. I have examples of it in my close family.

Everything in this world is a matter of timing.

Take the presidential race. There are many  talented people in it. On the Democratic side, both candidates are extremely competent individuals, and the breadth of knowledge and experience of the party's presumed nominee is nothing if not stunning.

But Hillary Clinton's timing is off. She's a great candidate--for a different era.

Even if you could strip Hillary of all her other negatives, what she's selling right now is not what the folks want to buy.

Frankly, there's not much Hillary can do to change anything about herself. Most of the electorate have grown up with her around and have a well-formed opinion of her.

The way I see it, unless she pulls off a miracle by really resonating with the electorate like Bernie Sanders has, Hillary's got real problems.

But just like you can't fix stupid, you can't fix timing either.

From Sandwiches to Sandals, Bernie's Brand Builds

Good Thursday morning Friends,

Look out Donald Trump, there's another player in the field whose brand is on the rise, and it's happening almost inadvertently through a handful of media gaffes.

The other night, while doing a live broadcast from its working restaurant studio in New Hampshire, MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes inadvertently referred to landslide winner Bernie Sanders as Bernie "Sandwiches."

This new tag on the up and coming media darling went absolutely viral. You may have already heard the story, Just about anywhere you now look on the web, you're going to see some kind of image of Bernie and a sandwich, or even as a sandwich.

I'll take pastrami and chopped liver on rye with a schmear.

FOX's Megyn Kelly, not one to be easily outdone, let slip another good one when she called the Vermont senator Bernie Sandals. That one has led to another round of interesting web images.

Sorry, I always have shoes on my mind.

Then, to put the cherry on this giant ice cream sundae of a gift, Chelsea Clinton called Bernie "President Sanders" at a rally for her mother--the very definition of a Freudian slip.

Bernie's got to think someone's really looking out for him.

All of his recent fortunes are a huge boost toward building a product that few in the beleaguered middle class can resist.

We're watching the creation of a beloved, wise, and a tad curmudgeonly uncle who's been talking about the same stuff for years. Now the time may finally be right to give his ideas a try.

After years of relentless pounding with little to show for it, Sanders has finally found a large enough audience for his politics to make a difference.

His strongest support, not surprisingly, comes from a generation, now coming of age, who grew up knowing the polar opposite of his mostly pedestrian democratic ideas; whose relative revolutionary feel is, perhaps a bit dangerously, appealing.

I remember how much I wanted to change the world when I was that hopeful age, and I have news for Hillary. It's not too late to give up those goals.

There won't be any spinning this one, Hill. Better come up with something new.

I'm excited to see measurable success for the candidate who represents genuine change, not simply a tweaking of the status quo.

I'm also excited that Bernie is the oldest candidate in the entire field. As a fellow Baby Boomer, I'm energized and invigorated by his ideas. Thanks, Uncle Bernie.

If you're not familiar with Bernie Sanders yet, knowing the power of the media as I do, I guarantee you will be. He'll be the next household word.

Don't think it'll happen? I have two words for you: Barack Obama.

Biden Regretting Decision

Happy post NH primary Friends,

This morning, as Governor Chris Krispy Kreme's campaign is about to fold officially, I'm going to do what most all political pundits seem to do, I'm going to make some wild speculation based on nothing but a gut feeling.

Geez! No more doughnut jokes. Gov. Chris Christie
is dropping out of the race

I'm going to rationalize making this complete hunch as my reward for my dead-on predictions in yesterday's New Hampshire primaries, which I called back in mid-January.

If you've been saying with confidence since then, based on reading it here, that both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders would win YUGE in the New Hampshire primaries, you've been indeed looking like the genius I promised you would be.

Makes you wonder why I'm sitting here in my man cave writing this blog, and not back on TV where I belong. I'm hoping, dear Friends, that with your help and support, my 30 years in broadcasting, and this blog's good calls--I will get back.

I'm the John Kasich of former TV pundits.

Anyway, back to business.

Today, I've got to think Joe Biden is doing some major soul searching.

The country's most well-liked pol should be in this race. It's most likely his last opportunity to ascend to the office he's always coveted, and it would be all but handed to him.

There is still a small window for good old Joe to jump through, and I believe he's waiting to see if Hillary Clinton stages any kind of comeback in Nevada and South Carolina, both in February.

I've been saying that she's damaged goods for the past 10 months and not a viable candidate. The results in New Hampshire vindicated me.

Joe knows how troubling it is that Hillary got blown out in a state she won eight years ago.

And if we take a closer look at the Iowa Caucuses, Hillary didn't win there either. Notwithstanding the six coin tosses for delegates, all won by Hillary and clinching the caucuses for her by 0.025%, remember that Bernie took 87% of the youth vote and 55% of women.

How'd those two alte kockers slip in over my right shoulder? 

You may also recall that Barack Obama rode that same youth vote to victory in Iowa in 2008, when college students were on break and caucused in their home precincts. They were back at school for this one, nullifying most of their impact and not giving Sanders an Obama-like bump.

So, my wild prediction is that Joe Biden isn't out of this race yet. He can't bear sitting on the sidelines watching the party he's loved so dearly his entire adult life hand its reins over to an avowed socialist who isn't even a party member.

What Joe does is completely dependent on what happens to Hillary, and could be impacted by Michael Bloomberg entering the race as a moderate-to-left independent.

If Hillary somehow survives, well, I've had some fun writing this. If Bloomberg jumps in, Joe sits out. But if things are status quo, we're going to see Joe.

New Hampshire Primary -- Nailed It!

Dear Friends,

Nuff said.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Say hello to the next President of the United States of America.

GOP Frontrunner All But Invisible, Focus on Losers

Happy Primary Day, Friends,

I didn't think it was possible, but even with a huge lead in all the polls, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has today become all but invisible.

Aside from some news reports of Trump calling Ted Cruz the other "c" word that has two syllables and starts with a "p" (which probably won't hurt him), hardly anyone's talking about the obvious leader.

The media seems to only be focusing on who is going to finish in the next five places. No matter that Trump is forecast to be the clear victor by a double-digit margin, and that New Hampshire is pretty much dead-on in predicting presidential nominees, somehow the also-rans have become the story.

Paint any face on it you want. I'm the winner. Everybody else...LOSERS!

I have news for you news media. There is only one winner. And the story is about how a bombastic, billionaire jack-o-lantern who's never gotten a single vote, has been able to capture the imagination of the GOP since virtually day one.

It doesn't matter who else finishes where. Trump is the winner. Everything else is irrelevant noise to fill the 24-hour news cycle.

The GOP leadership seems to still believe its own narrative that a mainstreamer will somehow rise up from the field like a phoenix, pique the electorate's imagination, and capture the nomination.

After 10 months with Trump on top, is this really likely? My guess that after the votes are counted tonight, we'll be doing a lot more talk about how big Donald Trump's win was, and how he's on the fast track to the nomination.

The party leadership will eventually be won over. I don't foresee a brokered convention.

Meantime, expect a lot more talk about the losers, which ones lost less badly, and who'll be likely to stay in the race to lose again to The Donald in South Carolina.

The Voters Move. The Parties Stand Still

Happy work week, Friends,

It occurred to me this morning, that not only are we witnessing a unique and extremely entertaining presidential primary this year, but we're watching and participating in something way more significant than that.

We are participants in the transformation of American mainstream politics, and an apocalyptic battle within both parties for their very souls.

Never in my lifetime, which has already spanned seven decades, have I seen anything like what we're watching unfold.

Tomorrow, we will move a step closer to two polemic battles that are unprecedented in the history of this country.

Vote for me and I'll set you free. Okay, maybe not free. You'll still have to pay taxes.

One battle is an internal one within each party, with voters moving to the edges while their effete leadership clings desperately to the middle.

The second is the clash of Hyper-capitalism versus Socialism in the general election,

The frontrunners of both parties will represent extremes, and the leadership of both parties will be one step closer to complete frenzy, notwithstanding that neither candidate is financially beholden to their party nor any Super Pac.

I've been saying for months that Hillary Clinton is damaged goods and not a viable candidate. She doesn't even have the majority of women Democrats in her corner.

Self-avowed Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders will win tomorrow. It's just a matter of  by how much.

Donald Trump appears to be in control and running from his self-conceived right-leaning fringe position.

We've yet to see if the tail will start wagging the dog, and the GOP will fall in line behind the bad hair and makeup poster boy.

But Trump and Sanders aren't your daddy's fringe candidates.

They represent where the mainstream voters of both parties have moved, without their respective leaderships realizing it. Party leaders continue sitting there in their dark, empty houses, wondering what happened to the voters and what to do next.

Once the parties' internal battles play out, I believe we will see a titanic clash of ideologues representing them in November.

My heart tells me that Bernie Sanders would win the battle. My head tells me that Donald Trump doesn't like to lose.

Hillary Hedging on Six-Figure Speech Transcripts

Happy Sunday Friends,

It's the day after the final Republican debate before the New Hampshire primary, and Marco Rubio was clearly the big loser last night.

Oh crap! I can't believe I just said the exact same thing four times!

Marco was being hammered on stage by Gov. Chris Krispy Kreme over his inexperience, and only being adept at sticking to a script.

The rookie senator then corroborated the diss, responding to the governor by repeating the same lines from his stump speech critical of President Obama...some four times.

This will not help the relative youngster.

Ted Cruz clearly pulled his punches when cajoled by a moderator to take a swing at Donald Trump, exactly what I predicted would happen in my post of January 13, Cruz refused to criticize the frontrunner,

The Cruz campaign is going nowhere in New Hampshire, just as expected. The Trump/Cruz tryst seems to be playing out.

But in my mind, a bigger story is that Hillary Clinton is hedging on releasing the transcripts of the speeches she made to Goldman Sachs for $675,000.

Hillary is claiming that the voters aren't really interested in the contents, and her campaign is considering whether or not to make them public; again, another instance of Hillary looking sneaky. Why wasn't her answer instantly, "Sure, I'll be happy to release them?"

What could she have possibly said to Goldman Sachs that Hillary needs to consider?

Keep in mind, this is the same woman who answered that she accepted the $675,000 because that's what they offered. And then followed up with she didn't know she'd be running for president.

First of all, who's she trying to kid? And second of all, who's she trying to kid?

You mean, it would have all been just fine if she wasn't running for president? That's what I call some pretty deep convictions.

This photo is part of  a huge right-wing conspiracy. I don't ever look like this!

It's just another instance of Hillary's poor judgment, her truthiness, and her hubris in assuming her sycophants will swallow any lame explanation she comes up with.

Maybe they will.

Maybe they'll actually hand her a loss on Tuesday night by the up to 30% some polls are forecasting.
I'm betting on something closer to the latter.

Her opponent may have some hurdles to face, but there's no doubt about Bernie Sanders' sincerity and genuine passion.

I don't ever get that with Hillary.

Sanders Reads My Blog!

Dearest Friends,

Okay, I'm not the most modest person, but I'm about a hundred notches below Donald Trump. Anyway, I'm about to give myself a big pat on the back. I've got to believe that Bernie Sanders is reading my blog.

Why do I say this? Because in last night's Democratic Debate of the Century, Bernie used the headline from January 31's post almost verbatim in a retort to Hillary Clinton. The headline was "Experience No Doubt, But Where's the Judgment?" And the blog was about the topic they were debating at that moment.

Oh yeah, well you had more experience than Obama did too. Where'd that get you?

If you watched the debate you'll recall it. Hillary was pounding Bernie over her vast experience and his lack thereof, and her readiness to do the job on Day 1. Then he pulled out the line.

I was sitting there watching the escalating slugfest when it dropped.  My reaction was kind of, "Holy crap! I wrote that line a couple of days ago!"

Now either Bernie and I think alike, which is entirely possible, or perhaps some of his staff is responsible for reading everything that's written about him, then giving him the good stuff to use. Then there's the minute possibility that Bernie's actually reading this!

I know I'm just flattering myself, but it's kind of fun to think about. And on a relatively quiet morning in the world of presidential politics, with the Trump/Cruz feud on hold again, and an otherwise great debate being hashed and rehashed by the news outlets ad nauseum, I thought I'd just write something light today.

Thanks for indulging me, and have a great weekend!

Trump/Cruz Deal Appears to Crumble - Carson Nears End

Hello again Friends,

While the two remaining Democratic candidates argued over who's the true progressive between them at a town hall meeting last night, it got nasty between the presumed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and Iowa Caucus winner Ted Cruz.

Trump recovered from a bout of humility after losing the Hawkeye State, and coming to his senses just a few hours afterward, went on the attack. Trump called Cruz a liar and is threatening legal action over his "stealing" the election.

This, for some dirty tricks pulled by Cruz's campaign staff. One involved a disingenuous news release stating that CNN was reporting Ben Carson wouldn't be going on to New Hampshire.

CNN actually reported that Carson was going home to Florida for a day before getting back on the campaign trail, The implication was that Carson was dropping out of the race, and his supporters should move to the Cruz camp.

So I woke up and discovered I was running for president, and I thought, "Why would I want to do that?"

After Dr. Carson loudly cried foul, Cruz formally apologized for his campaign's behavior. (Snarky comment about Evangelicals vs. honesty here).

Today's irony is that Carson laid off 50 non-essential campaign staff this morning, and his campaign is actually on the ropes. It's looking very much like he'll be dropping out prior to Tuesday's primary--if not, immediately afterward.

As what happens to many a Trump deal, a back-room tryst between the top two GOP rivals may have unraveled. The growing animosity between The Donald and the senator appears real.

We'll see what happens after Tuesday's showdown. I'm sticking to my guns that the two are in cahoots to meld the two halves of an invincible voting bloc they split.

Looking at the situation through the eyes of a businessman, it's what makes sense. And politics, for Trump, is just business. He likes the show, no doubt, but he knows the show won't make the dough.

A guy like Trump is thinking about the next way he'll succeed, all the time. He's looking for the sure thing, and I guarantee, his mind never rests.

So tell me, where do you see this bromance going? 

The misstep he made in Iowa--not attending the final debate--won't be repeated. We've all seen how quick a study Donald Trump is. His accomplishment in Iowa was unprecedented--a complete neophyte getting a record number of votes. He's earned some credit.

Will Trump pull off his first big win on Tuesday?  If it doesn't happen, that could put a big crimp in the big picture. Trump would probably bow out of the race, and I'd be the one who suffers a sudden bout of humility.

Santorum Out - Smart Money Says He Backs Trump

Hi Friends,

This just in: Rick Santorum has dropped out of the race.

Remember the other night after the GOP undercard debate? He and Mike Huckabee both showed up at Donald Trump's veterans' event during the main event across town. I said then, they'd made a deal.

I'm not hanging my head, I'm praying. 

Santorum will throw his support to someone reportedly later today. The smart money's on Trump, and I think we'll see Huckabee follow suit.

The Donald practices what he preaches about making deals, and he's got deals with both of them...Cabinet posts? Ambassadorships?  We shall see.


UPDATE--Rick Santorum has endorsed Marco Rubio.

I humbly admit I was wrong about this one.

In an interview with The Today Show this morning, Santorum was asked to name some of Rubio's
accomplishments that led to his endorsement.

He couldn't name one!

Say bye bye to any slot in a Trump administration, Rick.

Trump Humbled, Paul Bows Out

Happy Hump Day Friends,

We woke up this morning to the news that Senator Rand Paul has dropped out of the Republican presidential race, even after his campaign showed some signs of life in Iowa. So much for a Libertarian voice in the field.

Paul family politics are apparently not in vogue this election cycle. A more fear-driven xenophobic anger has taken hold of the Grand Old Party.

Paul's out, Marco's catching up, and Cruz is still from Canada

The co-head coaches of this team are Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, with Cruz pulling out the win in Iowa on the strength of his skillfully-built Iowa organization. This is much to his credit.

Donald Trump's second-place Iowa finish would have been considered a good one under normal circumstances. He, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio all received a record number of votes in the GOP Caucus. But The Donald set the bar so high for himself, the loss had to really sting.

Personally, I'd like to win so much I get tired of winning, as he promised I would be. But Trump couldn't deliver the first time out, thereby breaking a big campaign promise early on. No real surprise there.

What is surprising is how humbled Trump was yesterday morning when he talked to the media. I thought it was actually the most presidential he's looked to date. That may turn out to be a really good look for him, since it seems his double-digit lead is holding in New Hampshire.

In the meantime, it could get testy between contenders Cruz and Rubio to a point where the nastiness causes lasting damage to both candidates.

We'll be watching to see which way the momentum swings between now and Tuesday's primary. It still looks very good for the real estate mogul with those New York values.

Spinning Defeat Into Victory

Happy day-after-Iowa Friends,

I hate to keep pounding on Hillary Clinton, but am I missing something? Doesn't coming out in a dead heat with avowed socialist Bernie Sanders equate to a huge loss? Somehow, Hillary is spinning her awful drubbing into a victory.

She must think we're pretty darn stupid!

Don't be fooled, Bernie Sanders has the momentum and was the winner in Iowa. With an inferior organization, Sanders came out of nowhere and picked up 50% of the vote. That's an amazing accomplishment against the party-favorite and presumed nominee.

I'll give Hillary credit, she can put a great smiley face on a genuine tragedy. This contest shouldn't have even been close.

Let her think she won. Let her even say she won. I know better!

Let me state it here so it's completely understood: Sanders won big!

Watch for the email fiasco to continue dogging Hillary and eventually bring her down. Unlike some of the more spurious past claims about her that were indeed politically motivated, this one is for real and has traction.

On the Republican side, I still believe that Donald Trump will triumph. He will likely win New Hampshire, barring a major misstep. This is a state that Ted Cruz can't win, even coming off a decisive victory in Iowa.

Marco Rubio is shaping up to be the party's "mainstream" candidate and picked up a big boost coming off the final GOP debate before Iowa. Rubio, though, is just a bit closer to mainstream coming from the right side, than Bernie Sanders is coming from the left. Rubio is a Tea Party darling.

So all three leading Republicans are running from the far right, and that's more than a bit discomforting.

That seems to be where the GOP wants to be this year. Trump's and Cruz's numbers from last night add up to 52%.

I'm doubling down that the two have already formed an alliance, and it will result an invincible bloc within the party. And you can throw in Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee's support, the latter dropping out of the race this morning.

The presidential race became a little more interesting last night, and could even get more lively. Remember, Michael Bloomberg is waiting in the wings, and the filing deadline to get on the ballot in all 50 states is March 1. He has fewer than four weeks to make up his mind.

And then, there's good old Joe...

We All Know Where D'Nile River Leads

Happy work week Friends,

The big day has arrived. This evening, the first votes will be cast in the 2016 presidential election cycle. I'll be blogging about the results of the Iowa Caucuses tomorrow morning.

This morning, I wanted to blog about something that struck me as a real blind spot in mainstream Democratic Party women, which could ultimately cost their party dearly.

All for one and one for all. We're going down with the Hillary ship!

The leadership wants a woman president so badly, they're completely blind to Hillary Clinton's serious legal problems heading into what portends to be a very vicious presidential election.

By continually brushing off Hillary's headaches, a huge bloc of her supporters and portion of the blue party--middle aged women--have apparently tricked themselves into believing they can make them go away.

It's like repeating a big lie over and over so many times that the lie becomes the truth.

These women; elected officials, celebrities, professionals, et al., don't know what to do about their dream candidate having problems as deep as her experience is extensive. So instead of addressing them by shifting to a viable candidate, they just ignore them.

Hillary's small lead in the polls of yesterday has dissolved overnight, and now Bernie Sanders is ahead with momentum. Even if Sanders doesn't take Iowa, he'll be close. And he came out of nowhere to give the anointed successor to Barack Obama a genuine race.

This is happening not just because of Bernie Sanders' positive message, Hillary's negatives play a significant roll.

Here's a question these mainstream Dems need to ask themselves: what happens if Hillary is nominated and then criminally indicted?

Even if Mrs.Clinton's criminal problems don't ever get this far, they would cast a giant shadow over her administration. The country does not need to live through her taint at such a critical time in history--the literal brink of World War III.

Go on smiling as if everything was just lah-di-dah you bright and shiny Democratic women, and keep on supporting your girl. Pretend like there are no other female up-and-comers, and this is your last best chance for a woman chief exec.

Reminds me of the guy who kept on fiddling while his empire burned.