I think Cruz is holding on, to increase his bargaining power at the convention. BTW, Rubio and Jeb are also holding on to their bargaining chips. They have ‘suspended’ their campaigns, but have not declared themselves ‘out’ of the race - which would release their delegates from their pledge on the first vote.
So, everybody who has delegates wants to arrive at the convention with something to trade. And the swap meet will begin - VP slots, cabinet nominations, etc.
Now I am of the opinion (and Cruz probably is too deep down, even if he can’t accept it now) that if Trump arrives at the convention with a significant lead in delegates, and a lead in the number of states ‘won’, he should be the nominee. From a strategic point of view, moral point of view, no matter how you slice it, if Trump is leading big, he should be the nominee. And, Trump is a deal maker - no doubt he’s going to try and play Cruz and Kasich against each other.
BTW, I’ve used the SCOTUS appointments to justify voting for Romney, McCain, Dole, etc - so I understand the logic. But - I do not expect to be completely happy with anyone Trump would nominate. Yes it would be better than HRC’s, but I have no illusion that Trump’s would be the next Scalia.
I can’t disagree much with you - political wheeling and dealing is probably the 2nd oldest profession, and it isn’t going away.
I still think that you and a lot of others will be surprised with Trump’s judicial appointments. Its not an area that he’s an expert in, nor one that he likely wants to waste his time learning about when there are issues like national security, foreign policy, taxes, trade, etc. to deal with. He’s a business executive that is a master delegator, so he’ll hand off the lion’s share of that work to someone else...hopefully Cruz or someone of similar mindset. If Cruz plays his cards right, ONE of the things that he can do is to secure the ability to be Trump’s only or principal adviser on judicial appointments.