Trail Mix

Nancy Reagan’s elegant funeral today brought sanity and continuity to the stage. Political leaders from both sides, along with media and entertainment celebrities, coming together to honor a legendary love story between two people who really did change the world, regardless of what you think about what they changed it into.

Ron Reagan Jr. eulogy: “And here they’ll stay, as they always wished it to be, resting in each other’s arms, only each other’s arms, till the end of time.”

Trump’s restraint in last night’s debate is bad news for Democrats, showing he knows how to control himself. Therefore I am ready for Hillary. Trump looks clever enough to win. But his failure to clearly denounce supporters punching out protesters at his events scares me. Hillary supporters beware. This is not a cake walk. Ignore her baggage and Trump’s appeal at your peril.

Reader Response:
By Jamie 44: “My problem was never that others opposed Hillary Clinton, but rather the assumption of “baggage”. When what is dredged up is nothing more than the supposition, accusation, invention, and speculation of 30 years of right wing TV and radio, it isn’t “baggage”; it is believing the empty memes of political enemies.” Read More

The Boy King debates in his home state tonight with days to go before the Florida primary where his donors run for the hills if he doesn’t win. Ted Cruz aims to knock him out by beating Rubio for 2d place. Trump claims this will be a “softer” debate. Really? The conventional advice would be to sit on your lead and keep your mouth shut. Can’t imagine him managing that.

GOP Debate on CNN 8:30pm ET

Was it really such a good idea for the DNC to put their final two candidates on a channel and in front of an audience where they were forced to embrace illegal immigrants? Maybe so, but that is what happened last night. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, in Miami and on Univision, delivered numerous sound bites pledging not to deport undocumented immigrants and vowing to build a pathway to citizenship for them, all in a effort to compete for Latino voters. What happens in the general election against Republicans who are competing to do just the opposite, a pro-deportation position that most voters (and the Obama Administration) support?

Two things happened in the debate before the recent Michigan primary that Bernie Sanders surprisingly won: His attacks on Hillary Clinton’s trade record worked and her specious attacks on his auto bailout voting record did not work. Ergo, he needs to do more of the same and she needs to do something different. Join our chat thread now for tonight’s debate (CNN 9pm ET) in Florida, where Clinton is far ahead, but he will be aiming at Ohio, where he has the best chance at replicating his Michigan success. (And don’t forget Illinois & Missouri, also voting March 15.)