There’s something the chattering classes along the Acela Corridor don’t want to say about Donald Trump: He’s the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination.
For the Republican Party’s conservative — in more ways than one — establishment, it’s as if admitting that will make it come true. So instead, they squabble over who the “real” front-runner is, whether it’s Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. Perhaps, the parlor wisdom holds, a dark horse like Chris Christie can overtake the field at the New Hampshire turn.
For the first few months, the Trump deniers — loud on national television, insistent on Twitter and ever-present in the nation’s leading print and digital outlets — could be called wishful thinkers. With the primaries just around the corner, as many otherwise smart political analysts keep waiting, aching, for conventional order to be restored, it’s time to call them what they are: delusional…
The funniest, saddest theory out there is that Trump — who has been at this more than six months, shows no sign of tiring and clearly craves the limelight, and power — could get so bored of campaigning one day that he exits the race as abruptly as he took command of it. Yeah, and he could replace Tom Brady at quarterback in the Patriots’ first playoff game.
Instead of continuing to fool themselves, Republican pundits should school themselves in what is going on here. Like the last two Republicans who seized the White House from Democratic control, Trump paints in bold, bright colors. He exudes an almost impossible confidence. And he’s speaking directly to deep anxieties and resentments among GOP voters.
That has proven to be a potent combination among an anxious, Obama-weary electorate.
It’s understandable that Republican elites are mortified. A guy they can’t control is taking dead aim at many party orthodoxies, and profiting in the process. A few months ago, GOP insiders regarded a brokered convention as a nightmare. Now, to many, it’s more like a daydream.
