[Hoot Gibson]

The article linked below makes some excellent points about why Donald Trump should be well ahead of Hillary Clinton in the polls. Poll after poll show that voters support Trump's position on most major issues - but Trump spends too little time talking about issues with any specificity on the campaign trail. IMO, he has already wasted too much time alienating Republican leaders and voters and waging a war on the media to win the election. Still, I wonder why Trump is running such a self destructive campaign that is almost certainly leading him to defeat.

Had any other Republican candidate won the nomination, they would have been forcing Hillary Clinton to defend her unpopular positions on issues. The GOP squandered a great opportunity when they allowed a candidate who never voted in a Republican primary to compete for the nomination. Lesson learned? Let's hope so.

All the Issues Favor Trump

In the wake of the Democratic convention, some foot-in-mouth comments by Donald Trump, and a poll bounce for Hillary Clinton, much of the political class has decided that the presidential race is all but over. But across most of America, voters are at least as apt to be swayed by issues as by a convention's production values or a candidate's gaffes—and essentially every issue favors Trump.

Why, then, is Clinton developing such a lead in the polls? Because she, Trump, and the media all seem to agree upon one thing—that the issues are to be avoided. Clinton and the media avoid the issues because they know she's hurt by them. Trump avoids the issues for reasons that are harder to ascertain—perhaps because he doesn't fully realize how much they benefit him or perhaps just because he finds it easier and more enjoyable to talk about something else. But if he were to start talking policy, his electoral fortunes might turn around.