I agree with Paul’s assessment of Ted Cruz announcing Carly Fiorina as his running mate. But I would go farther: the move is widely seen as one of desperation, and tends to cement the perception that Cruz’s chance of winning the nomination is slipping away.
Fortune’s take was typical. The magazine first headlined, “A Desperate Ted Cruz Tosses a Hail Carly,” which was then softened–a little–to “A Fading Ted Cruz Tosses a Hail Carly.” Has early selection of a running mate ever worked to change the momentum in a race? Maybe, but I can’t recall an instance.
Which stage of grief is it when you give up? I’m there. It seems nearly certain that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will duke it out in November, in what shapes up as the least edifying contest in a long time. Republicans had a golden opportunity to elect a solid conservative, and they blew it.
What should a voter do when there is no conservative in the race? I, for one, will hold my nose and vote for Trump as the lesser of two evils. But, of course, hope springs eternal. Maybe Trump will turn out to be better than I think, both as a candidate and as a president. He has some appealing qualities, not least his willingness to stand up to the liberal press. Maybe, somewhere beneath those decades of crony capitalism and Democratic Party support, a few right-wing principles lurk. Maybe Trump will break the mold by surrounding himself with conservative rather than liberal advisers. Maybe he will put in the hard work it takes to be a good president.
We can dream, can’t we? In any event, Trump can only be a better president than Hillary. He will get my vote. I am glad, though, that I intend to spend the next few years working mainly on state issues.
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