OPINION:
And now the fun begins. All that has gone before doesn’t count, or at least not very much. The preliminaries are over, the palookas have been dispatched to undercards elsewhere, and with the passing of Labor Day the candidates, and more important, the voters, can get down to the serious business of choosing a president.
Pundits, junkies and consultants stroke their chin whiskers, look wise, and bewail the “permanent campaign” they actually love, analyzing every move of the wannabes, operatives, lobbyists and fundraisers from the time the candidates threw their hats in the ring. Voters, who have their own lives to lead, only now will begin to think about who they want to put in the White House.
Most of the opinions thrown about over the course of the months and in all those debates were opinions too green to pick, and opinions, like the public-opinion polls, will change as voters give more considered thought to the consequences of how they cast a vote.
This can’t be good news in the corridors at Clinton, Inc., where the nomination of Donald Trump, an inexperienced businessman prone to assaulting both his critics and the Queen’s English, was celebrated as something too good to be true. But now, against all odds and expectations, his bluntly stated message — rebuilding the economy, creating good jobs, restoring law on the border, and putting America first — is clearly resonating with a growing number of voters. November 8 is still a good way in the distance with many surprises to come, but many Republicans who a month ago were leery of Donald Trump are finding themselves getting more comfortable with the man. Hillary Clinton continues to stumble, and questions about her greed, her putting her own interests against those of the country — and now her health, all but off-limits only a fortnight or so ago — gather relevance and momentum.
The public-opinion polls, which only a month or so ago predicted a Clinton landslide that might even destroy the Republican Party, have tightened, as the polls nearly always do. Some of the most recent polls give the brash and belligerent Donald not only a chance, but even suggest an edge. The big media, which dispensed with even the pretense of reasoned debate and persuasive argument, have thrown their best shots at Mr. Trump and have yet to bloody his nose or blacken an eye. Hillary’s claque has gone from premature elation to sober caution about taking nothing for granted. Hillary herself has resorted to mindless suggestions that the Donald is either unhinged or likely to destroy the world, or both, having joined a vast cross-ideological conspiracy run by Vladimir Putin that includes the FBI, the Ku Klux Klan and maybe long-in-the-tooth stragglers of the Know-Nothings. Hillary’s vast right-wing media conspiracy has grown by leaps and bounds and is looking for new territory to cover.
The Donald continues to frustrate the Never-Trumpers in both parties, by finally demonstrating a willingness and, even more important, an ability to reach beyond his base to meet domestic opponents and foreign leaders as equals. His television commercials so far have not reflected the usual attack ads that are the staple of every campaign.
Mr. Trump has made many mistakes and wasted precious time on distractions that didn’t lead anywhere good. These were the mistakes of a rookie, and he still has something to learn. But that was before Labor Day, mistakes and miscalculations to be forgotten and forgiven as voters turn to the economy (with apologies to Mr. Stupid), and focus on what’s important to them, even if not very important to the pundits and the campaign hangers-on. It’s a relief that the decision is now in capable hands, not those of the know-it-alls of press and tube who are so eager to tell everyone what they should think. Not a moment too soon.
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