THE constitutional powers of a defeated presidential candidate are, to use a technical term, zilch. That being so, it is striking that many partisans sound complacent when asked to explain how their favourite politician might win the general election this November. George Stone, a retired snuff salesman from Colfax, Wisconsin, spoke for many Republicans when he told Lexington recently why the conservative whom he favours, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, has no need to tack to the political centre. Look at Ronald Reagan, he was unabashedly of the right and he won, Mr Stone averred: “If you explain conservatism to most people, they understand that they are a conservative.”
Fans of Donald Trump have spent months echoing the businessman’s claim to enjoy an unrivalled following among fed-up conservatives, independents and Democrats, so that if nominated he would—in his self-assessment—have “more crossover votes than anybody that’s ever run for office”. Ardent admirers of Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator and populist who has forced Hillary Clinton to fight hard for the Democratic presidential nomination, strike a slightly more defensive note. Asked...Continue reading
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