Five Big Questions After a Vulgar Republican Debate

So, yes, the size of Trump’s penis matters — or, rather, what matters is that it was an actual subject of discussion; that it reflected and set the tone of the encounter; and that this tone favors Trump, because it’s where he lives, it’s his kingdom, and if rivals join him there, they merely become his subjects.

.. Although there were moments when his ability to maintain his composure was heroic, there were as many or more when he grew flustered, reddened, sputtered and resorted to insult, looking tinier than I thought that a man who stands well over 6 feet tall could.

.. Trump’s voters aren’t with him because he’s the purest conservative. Trump is their protest vote, and part of what they’re protesting is preoccupations of the Republican Party that haven’t improved or been immediately relevant to their lives. They’re protesting foreign wars, free trade and the coddling of corporations, and some of Trump’s apostasies are precisely what draw them to him.

.. Republican leaders’ failure to take down Trump isn’t simply a function of hesitancy — it’s not just about waiting too long. It’s about their own lack of credibility and authority with the part of the electorate that’s defying them.

.. I’m going to play Pollyanna, minus the long blond hair and the bow, and remark on a refreshing development over the last few weeks and especially days. More emphatically and unequivocally than at any recent juncture that I can recall, Republican leaders and standard bearers are saying that their party has no tolerance for any racism, no room for any sexism, no forgiveness for bigotry.