Sunday Roundup (POLITICS)
This week the nation entered terra incognita, as Indiana GOP voters handed Donald Trump a big victory, giving us -- with Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropping out -- the most unqualified, unstable, and dangerous nominee in U.S. history. The events immediately provided a test for Republicans, some of whom rose to the occasion and refused to endorse Trump. Then there was Rick Perry, who once called Trump a "cancer." Now? He says he'd consider being his running mate: "I will be open to any way I can help. I'm not going to say no." What stirring statesmanship. But this is not just a test for the GOP. It's also a test for the media, who, as David Roberts writes, is likely to give a very unusual campaign the usual media treatment: "Trump's obvious unfitness for office -- today widely acknowledged across both parties and in the mainstream media -- will become a partisan observation." So, yes, as the media writes about how various Republicans are handling their character test, we need to remember we're facing one ourselves. The most important mistake the media could make now would be to treat this like a normal election, and Donald Trump like a normal candidate.