Elephants in the Room

What a day in United States politics.  Donald Trump wins Indiana, which means he most probably wins the Republican nomination for President.  Prior to that, we have Trump ‘suggesting’ that Ted Cruz’s father was somehow complicit in the assassination of JFK, and Cruz replied with an anti-Trump screed that scuttles any thoughts of a unified GOP.  On the sidelines, there’s Bernie Sanders crankily trying to rewrite rules and redefine precedents so he can ‘contest’ the Democratic Convention in ways not helpful either to his righteous causes nor to the righteous efforts to keep Donald Trump from actually becoming President of the United States.

As all this oozes across old and new media, I’m continually astounded by the breathless incredulity of professional political analysts, print and electronic.  For the past year, our pundits (not ‘pundints,’ Bernie) have been dead-on wrong about almost everything that has been happening in the primaries, and even more about reasons behind these happenings.  They’ve ignored the elephant, or elephants, in the room—in matters big and small. 

By being clueless, our ‘serious’ political media has enabled the successful major-party candidacy of a profoundly unserious, and potentially profoundly dangerous, man.

Donald Trump is a media-created, illusion-of-independent-money-fueled con man.  Plus a crass, bigoted bully.  Where was the push-back, either by profit-motivated media or pusillanimous politicos?  Where is the coverage of the Republican Party’s shameful collapse into tepid acquiescence? 

Ted Cruz is a prevaricating Bible-thumping demagogue.  Where is the serious coverage of his nauseating ‘only in god-blessed America’ schtick, eh?

Bernie Sanders is a cause that’s become a vanity campaign.  Where is the analysis of how ‘Feel the Bern’ is turning into a burn-the-impure-Democratic-Party, no matter what the consequences?

Hillary Clinton is old news, but the coverage of her in this new campaign is also old:  Benghazi, emails, Monica Lewinski, Vince Foster, whatever.  Where is the analysis of what she actually brings to the table (experience, knowledge, even past mistakes), particularly compared to what the other candidates bring?

BREAKING NEWS as I write:  Ted Cruz is suspending his campaign!  Now, let’s see if he lives up to his earlier rant today and does not ultimately endorse Donald Trump.

Cruz will continue to fight, he says, whatever that means.  Which probably is not much.  It's up to sane and patriotic Republicans to resist the 'unite to defeat Hillary Clinton' clarion call and think about, duh, the country.  Even about the future of the Republican party.  If they don't, the elephant in the room remains as immovable as ever.