Most Ridiculous Moment – January 31, 2016

“Predictable”

As Chuck Todd said, it was Christmas Eve 
on the Sunday talk shows, with the first voting 
of 2016 just one day away.

It's also the Super Bowl of punditry, where pundits go television and explain who is going to turn out for who, and why, which candidate is going to come in first and second and third and what it all will mean... until next week, when they come on to explain why they were completely wrong and what that means.

Panic is beginning to set in the Republican party and the media. When asked who will win Iowa, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, Ezra Klein explained “I'm actually watching Rubio,” and “I think for a long time now the conventional wisdom has been that at some point Rubio's going to break out of the pack. And so now there's this feeling that he's surging a little bit at the end in Iowa,” and “If he'd get a very strong third in Iowa and go into New Hampshire, then you could begin to see the establishment coalesce around him, a big infusion of money into his campaign.”

Republican strategist Alex Castellanos said, "Nobody ever bought a product that made them feel worse. That's Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio is the future of the Republican Party.”

While Matthew Dowd said, “The only way 
I think the Republicans can figure out a 
way, is if somehow, as Alex says, Rubio surprises and then he becomes the quick alternative. Then it's a Rubio-Trump race starting in New Hampshire.”

Major Garrett said of Marco Rubio, “It's sort 
of an interesting question, when does 
third place equal first?”

Turning to analyzing the Trump phenomenon, David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network said, “the reality is is that there is a certain type of evangelical that votes for Donald Trump, a little bit more of a cultural Christian if you will.”

While Castellanos explained “But it's not about issues with Trump,” and “one of the things we teach candidates to prepare for the debates, moments of strength. They're gladiatorial contests.”

While Major Garrett observed, “The central question for the Trump campaign is, can you win an Iowa caucus by making politics, for lack of a better word, fun?” and added “Trump is fun.”

The candidates got plenty of air time, too.

Hillary Clinton was ABC, where George Stephanopoulos asked her if she was going to lose Iowa like she did in 2008, and asked her four questions about her e-mails.

George also talked to Bernie Sanders, who said his plans were realistic because 
“every proposal that I am bringing forth is, 
in fact, supported by the vast majority of the American people,” and said the way to win in 2016 is “a political revolution involving people in the political process.”

Rand Paul got to be on Meet The Press, where he told everyone “I think 'Audit the Fed' was a defining moment for Ted Cruz; not showing up for that vote is going to hurt him without us losing any Liberty voters to him.”

On his chances in Iowa, Senator Paul said, “We think we might get twice as much as what's in there, or three times as much. We think we can do much better than expected, we think we even have a chance of winning.”

Marco Rubio was also on NBC, explaining 
his leadership in the Gang of Eight Immigration bill, saying “That was dealt with three years ago. It was an effort to fix our immigration laws.”

After Chuck Todd played a long clip of Rubio advocating cap and trade, he complained, “Yeah, but that's not the full clip. What you just played is not the full clip.”

Ted Cruz was on NBC too, explaining that 
“a vote for Marco Rubio is a vote for amnesty. And a vote for Donald Trump is a vote for ObamaCare,” and that Trump is “advocating full-on expanding ObamaCare to make it socialized medicine,” and “Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have the identical position on healthcare.” He promised “If I'm elected, we will repeal every word of ObamaCare.”

But the most absurd moments came 
with Donald Trump's appearances on 
ABC and CBS.

He responded to Ted Cruz, saying 
“I am so against ObamaCare. I've been saying it for two years in my speeches, I'm going to repeal and replace ObamaCare, and “a whole staple of my campaign is repealing, getting rid of ObamaCare and replacing it,” and “Nobody is more negative on ObamaCare than Donald Trump.” 

However, he also said “we have to help people. If somebody has no money and they're lying in the middle of the street and they're dying, I'm going to take care of that person,” and “frankly, we have to take care of the people in our country. We can't let them die on the sidewalks of New York or the sidewalks of Iowa.”

George Stephanopoulos asked, 
“How do you do it?”

Trump would only say, “We're going to work with our hospitals. We're going to work with our doctors. We've got to do something,” and “We'll work something out,” and “nobody knows health care better than Donald Trump.”

He also said “worldwide, I get along with everybody,” and said of Ted Cruz, “he's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him,” and “He works with these Senators, he doesn't have one endorsement.”

Asked if any Senators had endorsed him, He said “There will be very soon. You watch.”

He bragged, “We have tremendous endorsements. Jerry Falwell, Jr.. just endorsed me, from Liberty University, which is probably one of the reasons I went so high with the Evangelicals,” and “Sarah Palin just endorsed me, which is a great endorsement. Sheriff Joe from Arizona, the toughest guy on the border."

On CBS he added, “I get the endorsements from Sarah Palin and I get the endorsements from Jerry Falwell Jr. Even Sheriff Joe endorsed me. That means I am the best on the border.”

On why the prospect of him being President makes so many Republicans nervous, he said “I hate to give you, as an example, an answer. You will ask me a question, a very strategic question, maybe a military-type question, and I have a very strong answer in mind. But there is something about giving you that answer that bothers me very much, because, basically, the enemy is getting that answer.”

Trump finally observed “I do have actually much more humility than a lot of people would think,” and said he doesn't show it because “I would rather not play my cards. I want to be unpredictable.”

So, Marco Rubio isn't a pandering flip-flopper, because that was three years ago, and if he finishes third, he's the real winner, because either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz being the nominee is just too disturbing to contemplate.

Rand Paul says he might win Iowa because Ted Cruz won't audit the Fed, while Ted Cruz said Donald Trump is a socialist.

Trump says no one like Ted Cruz, whereas he's been endorsed by a supporting cast member of Duck Dynasty, Sarah Palin, Jerry Falwell's son, and Sheriff Joe.

Trump says we should have replace ObamaCare with government funded health care for the poor, but won't say what it should be. He also won't say what Senators will endorse him, or how humble he is, or what his military strategy or foreign policy would be, because he likes to be “unpredictable.”

And that's the most ridiculous thing that happened this Sunday.