I am curious of what you might attribute to Sowell’s error? You thoughtfully acknowldge that his Cruz “take” is mistaken and attributed to “something else”.
Is Sowell, by his reputation, rhetorically gifted enough to shape opinion, and thereby turn the soil early in the season for possibly a more like minded candidate like Bush, who is known to be surveying the landscape for a possible presidential run?
I guess I believe it’s crunch time for this nation’s direction, that the only thing standing between complete fiscal decline, political corruption and moral collapse is the grace og God and the winner of the 2016 ballot.
I can’t imagine that a sage like Sowell wouldn’t agree that the critical juncture is here and that our direction is determined by the leadership of men, or of mob. So, if he does agree that leadership is the critical, surely he has someone in mind. Why else blame both the Establishment, and their only real nemesis, Cruz, unless he has an alternative to Cruz? If not Cruz types, whom would he believe capable of even making a difference?
A couple of things (and below I cut and paste from comments in posts 118 and 122):
I do think that as a younger man, Sowell would never have adopted the risk-averse attitude he has now. But there again -- is it because age has made him wiser, or because age has made him more vulnerable? Age does both to us all.
And --
Sowell is in is 80s, I believe, and he is very wise ... but his great age now may be making him more cautious and even timid than he would have been as a younger man. Would he ever have opined thus about someone like Cruz 20 years ago? Just the same, Sowell is much too wise to disregard because of one puzzling opinion.