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Let's examine the thesis of this vanity: Ted Cruz, a Republican president, will not be able to get "anything done" because the Republican Congress "hates" him but Donald Trump will "get what he wants" because he will ask for 3X as much.

What insight! Why hasn't any president thought of this before?

Instead of asking for three times his secret goal, Cruz will go on television and call liars liars and make his case to the American public on radio. I thought Ronald Reagan went over the heads of Congress and made his case to the American people. I thought he revived the Saturday radio talks. I thought Ronald Reagan was widely admired for going over the heads of the antagonistic Congress, usually a majority Congress from the other party, to "get what he wants."

But then getting the people behind an idea is really getting what people want. What we will get with Donald Trump will always be what Donald Trump wants.

I don't think any of us are going to like very much what we get because we will not like very much with Donald Trump wants. His supporters think he wants deportations and closed borders and a robust military. They might get that but they would get that with Cruz. More likely they will get a wall and a chaotic arbitrary re-admission regime. What they will get that they might not like is big government, crony capitalism, bailouts, subsidies for biofuels and sugar and everything else that might strike the Donald's fancy. From a man who favored TARP, Obama's bailout, the bailout of the automobile companies, we are very likely to get a very strong dose of Donald Trump's personal crony capitalism.

His supporters think they will get "really great deals" from foreign countries on trade but what they might get is a devastating trade war.

Trump's supporters have no idea what they will get with Donald Trump because they have no understanding of the man's core philosophy. They are chasing shiny objects.

While your tireless advocacy for Ted Cruz is laudable, and acknowledging your predictable antagonism for Donald Trump, you seem to be analyzing this process in more theoretical than realistic terms.

In order for either Cruz or Trump to win the Presidency, they must get elected by a national electorate that is not in any way dominated by purist conservative Republicans.

Realistically speaking, and without putting excess dependence on "polling", I think that it is Donald Trump who has captured the imagination and pulse of the American electorate, and who has the momentum and the wind at his back.

I personally believe that Trump's path to a general election victory is much broader, and Cruz's much more difficult.

If electability is the only consideration, I think that the advantage is Trump's.

But, additionally, given the momentum factor, the charisma factor, or the interest factor, I think Trump also has the advantage here as well.

Cruz's strength lies in his ideological integrity, if you will.

Though I prefer Cruz ideologically, I honestly don't believe that his ideological integrity will be enough to sway enough voters to win a general election.

Trump deserves the national lead that he has, especially in the face of his "missteps".

Trump will appeal to a much wider swath of voters, and will make electoral inroads into traditionally Democratic demographics.

That, combined with the leadership Trump has shown, the huge enthusiastic crowds, and in general the overall momentum, outweighs other considerations, IMHO.

Ted Cruz isn't going to achieve frontrunner status by default! he will have to seize on something. But it is Trump who has broght focus to the issues Americans care most about.

Cruz's "steady wins the race" strategy probably would have been effective in many election cycles, but I don't think that will be enough this time around.

But Rah! Rah! Rah! keep up the cheerleading...

Trump’s supporters have no idea what they will get with Donald Trump because they have no understanding of the man’s core philosophy. They are chasing shiny objects.

Well, for the first time...I have to disagree with you.

Granted, we don’t really know what we will be getting but ANYTHING is better than any career politician who like stones in a riverbed has been polished in the ways of deceit, corruption, lies and manipulation of private business to ensure a following of those he has “ given a leg up “ in business.

The golden rule of politics is that you tell the voters what they want to hear and they will vote for you. Do the opposite and they will not vote for you. Once in office you can do what you want and the most amazing thing is that if you don’t carry out your promises, simply repeat them again and they (the lemmings) will vote for you again expecting a different result.

The election this time around is either going to save our heritage and lifestyle of the past or we will give the key to the gates of hell to all who hate America and the way of life and freedoms we have enjoyed since the Constitution and Bill of Rights was established.

At this point in history our political process and those in it have become so corrupt that we need a totally different leader that comes from the private sector and not the cesspool of lies, corruption and downright deceit. Trump is that man.