My Tuesday started well before dawn when a friend from California texted me:
“You woke up?”
“Now I am.”
“Turn on the news. Something terrible has happened in Brussels.”
“What are you doing?”
“I got up to pee and made the mistake of turning on the TV to check the news.”
These are the conversations 70-year-old men have with each other.
There is no way to explain the mindless slaughter that Islamic terrorist groups (now ISIS) seem to so easily inflict on innocent people trying to get to work or board a plane.
The situation is so worrisome that the U.S. State Department has issued a warning to Americans traveling to Europe:
Terrorist groups continue to plan short-term attacks across Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist attractions, restaurants and transport.
The warning is valid until June 20.
While the victims of the Brussels attacks were still being identified, President Barack Obama was in Havana for an exhibition baseball game between a Cuban team and MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays.
Next to Obama, in the seat behind home plate, sat the shining symbol of freedom, Raul Castro.
Well, this trip has been a long time coming. Not attending the match out of respect for Brussels would undermine everything Obama is trying to achieve, and there was a moment of silence in the stadium before the match.
But the optics of Obama and Castro making this wave were tough at best to accept. While all this was happening, elections and party meetings were taking place in Arizona (R and D), Utah (R and D) and Idaho (D).
Hillary Clinton had one of the three (keeping up the baseball theme of the event), but her one victory, Arizona, gave her more delegates than both Bernie Sanders’ victories in Utah and Idaho.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump won the Arizona primary and Ted Cruz won the Utah primary, but as with the Democrats, Arizona won 58 delegates and Utah 40, so Trump also increased his lead.
The other Republican left in the field, John Kasich, won no states yesterday and won exactly the same number of delegates.
By my count (which may be slightly off), Kasich is now 1-for-38 (including events in places like Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands). After his victory in Ohio, Kasich said the race is now “a whole new ball game.”
Maybe, but 1 in 38 is .028 — way, way below the Mendoza Line (another baseball reference). In fact, that sends you back to at least a Single-A minor league team, if not all the way to a developmental league, to ponder your future as a professional athlete.
I like Kasich. I actually voted for him in the Virginia presidential primary. But, as I tweeted yesterday (@RichGalen), as someone with a petite number of delegates [143] and little money is still taken seriously?
By the way, after last night, Donald Trump has 739 delegates and Ted Cruz has 465 of the 1,237 required for the nomination.
Kasich insists he will stay in office until the Republican National Convention begins in Cleveland on July 18, so that when delegates come to their senses and look to the dugout bench to see who is still available (another baseball metaphor), they will put Governor Kasich on the board to be their nominee.
Two words: No chance.
Okay, why is Bernie Sanders still on the Democratic side?
First, he has money. In February alone, he raised more than $40 million. Second, even if he doesn’t think he can overtake Clinton for the nomination, staying in the race makes it necessary for him to sing from his songbook about income inequality, trade, Wall Street, education, etc., etc.
Why? Because he can’t afford for all of Sanders’ youthful, energetic supporters to go on a campaign hike or stay home on November 8.
Phew. I’m glad we made it to Wednesday.
