“Are you trying to say I’m dumb?”— Amy Klobuchar,
candidate for President to a fellow Democrat.

“I can handle things I’m smart — not like everyone says — not dumb, I’m smart and I want respect!”— Fredo Corleone.

The groundlings at the Stately Manor were struck dumb — in both senses of the word —at Trump’s latest exercise in self-pity in Colorado Springs this past week. There was the President of the United States kvetching that he wasn’t awarded Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Dammit, man, you are the President of the United States and you’re still nursing imagined slights?

Could you imagine Eisenhower, Kennedy, or Reagan debasing himself like that? Then Trump asks the audience what it thought of his State of the Union speech. A generous round of applause was his answer. It was a speech that would have done any of his predecessors proud. 

So, no, the white labcoats here at the Werkes do not fully understand this Jekyll and Hyde president or the roller coaster ride the Orange Man in the White House is taking us on. If he was lucky in his opponent in 2016 he seems equally blessed this election year. 

Democrats’ choice: None of the Above

We’re reminded of Casey Stengel’s exasperation upon managing the expansion New York Mets (season record: 40-120) in 1962: “Can’t anybody here play this game?” This is our Democrat(ic) acquaintances’ desperate hour. A round-up of the headlines post-Las Vegas debate Tuesday (02-18-2020) 

“Bloomberg quietly plotting brokered convention strategy.” — Politico

Charles Blow in the NY Times is apoplectic: “Bloomberg’s record and misleading statements make him a dangerous choice.”

“Warren, Biden and Buttigieg dangerously close to going broke.” — Politico.

“Sen. Scott: Trump Will See 50% Increase in Black Support in 2020 “— Fox News.

“Why Democrats are bound for disaster.” — Frank Bruni in the NY Times. 

Bernie is the front runner

“Bernie Sanders is George McGovern” — The Atlantic.

“Dem mega-donors stand pat as Bernie soars.” — Politico

“MSNBC’s Deutsch is “Panicked,” says Sanders can’t beat Trump.” — Real Clear Politics.

Down-ballot Republicans watch with glee as Sanders gains steam. Trump and Republicans are suffering in the suburbs. But they’re confident voters there will view Bernie as worse. — Politico.

Democrats are in trouble. The party’s riskiest bet is now its likeliest. Sanders’s candidacy would represent a large bet — titanic, one might say — on the willingness of the American public to embrace drastic economic and social change in an era of relative peace and prosperity. — Bret Stephens in the NY Times.

Love to be a fly on the wall at The Capital Times

Comrade John Nichols must have a function key that automates his stock phrase, “Sanders is right.”

Sanders is right that the party cannot surrender to a corrupt political system bought by billionaires like Mr. Bloomberg.

“Then there is Bernie Sanders,” writes Paul Fanlund in The Capital Times.

A recent national Gallup poll said 90 percent of respondents could support a woman or someone who is Jewish, black, Hispanic or Catholic. Sixty percent said they’d support an atheist. Only 45% said they would be willing to vote for a socialist. Sanders sees himself as a revolutionary. I see him as unelectable.

Blaska’s Bottom Line: We yield to the Babylon Bee, headline: “Democrats gamble that America is finally ready for a rich, white President.”

What do YOU think?