Perhaps the worst thing that could happen to a politician is a loss of interest in what they have to say.
Donald Trump won that contest a long time ago by grabbing center stage and never relinquishing it.
He received substantial help from the media, which thought it necessary to repeat and keep repeating his utterances even though excluding some verbal detours and a number of sensational accusations the story line rarely varied.
It was well established shortly after he announced his candidacy from the Trump Tower in June 2015 that he would be the greatest candidate who would mount the greatest campaign to make America great again. And vast percentage of the media thought that was great.
In the ten months since his official public debut Trump has not disappointed, and the free coverage given him is the dream of anyone who ever ran for office.
As dazzling a performance as it has been (and may continue to be), hearing Trump on Trump can get tedious even for the most undiscriminating listener.
With Ted Cruz still in the game there was at least some chance of more explosions such as Trump’s completely unsubstantiated conflation of a National Inquirer story accusing the Senator’s father of a linkage with President John F. Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
That drew condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike across the political spectrum with Cruz himself labeling Trump a “pathological liar.”
Now with Cruz and John Kasich both bowing out, the last tattered survivors of a year-long scorched earth campaign, the Trump hackathon has lost purpose, unless of course it is revived in the face-off with Hillary Clinton, the putative Democratic nominee.
Aside from some of the pungent questioning during the debates, in the early going the media while not giving him a free ride, did not strain either to hold Trump to account for many of his exaggerated claims, baseless observations and outright lies.
Perhaps more importantly, though it had less material to work with, treatment of other candidates was skimpier while Trump was feasting daily on non-stop headlines. Inevitably the coverage will be lop-sided—but Trump cannot be faulted if the media is taking whatever he is offering as a steady diet.
By the time other candidates had overcome their timidity in attacking Trump, it was game, set, match.
Now there is the matter of the national conventions in July, which at least for the GOP promised suspense and high drama if Cruz and Kasich had soldiered on.
Instead their suspension of campaigning has to deflate their supporters who were looking forward at least to staging noisy protests. They may still do so.
However barring extraordinary action by the convention Rules Committee to deprive Trump of the nomination, which would need the support of a majority of the delegates and create pandemonium, any protests will have only symbolic value.
A convention erupting in chaos is the last thing the GOP high command wants.
Furthermore, a contested convention would merely give Trump what he craves most—an even brighter spotlight.
Conversely it would also rivet a national audience that, with the exception of the true partisans, may now be more inclined to turn the channel to a favorite baseball game if this turns into a grand coronation as Trump would prefer.
House Speaker, Paul Ryan’s announcement that he is not yet ready to support Trump, could throw another wrench into the proceedings which, given Trump’s volatility could still enliven things.
As for the Democrats, Sanders has already instructed his supporters that he is not prepared to take steps, which could in any way contribute to a GOP victory in the fall.
While he is not expected to raise the white flag and may choose to fight all the way to the convention, the reality must by now be setting in that he faces certain defeat.
Although to keep faith with his determined followers, he will work hard at pushing Clinton as far Left as she is willing to go, the ultimate glue that will return rebellious Democrats to the fold will be profound aversion to Trump.
Still, the Democrats realize the impassioned New Englander has touched some very responsive chords—particularly among the younger generation–87 million strong—as well as the unemployed and working class men and women whose support also proved crucial to Barack Obama.
Now Clinton will have to find a way to harness some of that enthusiasm for herself without appearing to coddle. She must also increase her credibility among the skeptics who have not warmed to her despite her long track record, while maintaining the steely inner resolve that make her a formidable opponent.
Republicans may have a tougher assignment which is to rebuild a party that is torn apart by inner dissension and has been marching to the tune of egocentric zealots whose personal agendas are apparently more important than either their party’s fortunes or national priorities.
Trump is not the answer. But barring some dramatic reversals as unpredictable as his quest for the nomination, he will be chosen to lead them into the future.