Mea Culpa

Well, Donald Trump has pulled out of the race for GOP nomination for president, which does peeve me a little. I was having fun with watching the various Republicans go through some hilarious contortions during this early part of the silly season and he just let some air out of that balloon. I mean, really: the guy has spent a life time donating to Democratic candidates and suddenly he's interested in the birth certificate and academic credentials of the current President, which makes him a worthy Republican?

Oh, please.

Now, most of us knew Trump wasn't going anywhere in this race, but apparently the news media took the whole candidacy quite seriously. Reporters and pundits spilled a lot of ink and electrons on every move and every speech The Donald made. Imagine their chagrin when Trump fired himself. Actually, the Washington Post saved you the trouble yesterday by posting a few thoughts from the pundits who labored on Mr. Trump's behalf. My favorite came from E.J. Dionne:

There is now a strange symbiosis where self-promotion, goosing ratings, selling books, kicking off a new TV season, winning more page-views and upping speaking fees all get masked together and the resulting porridge gets labeled as “politics.” Mike Huckabee (for whom I confess to having a soft spot) and Sarah Palin (for whom I do not have a comparable soft spot) have all used the political media to enhance their market value. Now Trump – in a much shorter time -- has done the same. And the Republican contest for the presidency has been reduced to one big marketing exercise.

Think of it as the privatization of American politics. Issues, schmissues. Celebrity rules.

Why, yes.

I think that gets it.

It's just too bad that the media didn't get it sooner.