(Excuse me)

My unambiguous dismissal of Donald Trump in yesterday's post may remind regular readers of my low regard for the former Mayor of Wasilla. Although this country will be better off if neither is elected to national office, these public figures are very different.

I sat through John King's interview with Trump last night. It was painful to watch, but it crystallized for me the critical distinction:

Sarah Palin is out of her league; Donald Trump is out of his mind.

If we're looking for a comparable character, in my opinion, it's not Caribou Barbie -- it's Charlie Sheen.

I'm baffled that Trump's disciples are, by and large, the same people who decry dishonesty and corruption in government. They express distaste for "elitists" and "the ruling class," rightly calling for a return to constitutional values and government by The People.

It would make more sense to me if an arrogant real-estate mogul with a long track record of deceit was their villain, but no -- inexplicably, he's a freakin' hero.

Yes, the Constitution gives the inarticulate Trump the right to thump his chest -- "I've done a great service to [sic] the American people" -- and fool the foolish. But I, for one, hope that the media continue to exercise their First Amendment rights as well, mercilessly riding his megalomaniacal ass and exposing him as the fraud he is.