From 1993!

(Lee Lorenz created this clever cartoon that appeared in The New Yorker in '93.)

Have I been dreaming these past couple of months?  Sometimes it all seems real, that Donald Trump actually is running for President.  As a Republican.  And he is leading in the field of thirteen, yes 13, candidates.  Is it a dream or nightmare?  Unclear.  Either way, it has been stunning.  And sometimes entertaining.  Get this: Docta Ben Carson was in second place—definitely a nightmare.  (I think he donated his brain to a patient at some point.)  Geeeez.  

...and several months ago – even before her email mess— I had a gut feeling that Hillary won't be President.  No clue why.  Given the field of Republicans, well...how could she not?  And then Bernie Sanders came along and knocked our socks off with his no frills, no nuance straight talk.  With policies I embrace...and policies he has embraced for years.  Nothing seems ginned up to make him electable.  (There are a few things on my Bernie wish list— including a strong stand on gun control, greater understanding of our black and hispanic communities...that's the big stuff.)  And I truly like him.  He's authentic; there is no artifice.  And that's delicious!  The crowds he's drawing have been amazing.  Yet I don't see him in the oval office.  Just don't have a sense it will come to pass.

Now I'm waiting for Joe's decision.  And my heart aches thinking of the energy, the life force it would take for him to make it a YES.  If he does, it would be next to impossible not to support him.  I'm not sure there's ever been a candidate with so much of the right stuff—his temperament, the big, inclusive heart, the good sense, and the deep experience....  Most of all, I love him.  I love him enough to be conflicted about his decision, to want what's best for him personally a little more than what might be best for America and the world.  He is with the Unions today in Pittsburgh though and apparently revved up for events there.  Soon we will know what he will do.  He wants to be sure.  But how can he be?  Grief is relentless and unpredictable.  If he runs, grief will be his partner.  Tough, tough decision.

Whatever happens, this Yellow Dog Dem will rally behind the nominee, knowing we'll be better off with any Democrat than one of the cast-of-thousands Republicans.  I want some heart and soul along with intelligence and sound mental health in my candidate.