[Hoot Gibson]

I don't think so, Wide. Cruz has assembled and managed a massive campaign organization. His problem in the Senate has been that he is a junior Senator dealing with a RINO Senate Majority Leader determined to cut backroom deals with Obama. There is no junior President and a president fresh from winning a national election enters office with a great deal of power.

As for the general campaign, Trump has lost a good part of the Republican Party already and with all of his complaining and his constant string of insults at Cruz, it will be hard for his core supporters to line up behind Cruz. If Trump loses and loses graciously, he could make the healing process easier, but I do not see that happening. If Cruz loses, I expect him to be gracious in defeat but I do not expect him to expend much energy to help Trump mend all of the fences that he has plowed under during the campaign. Win or lose, I think that the campaign Trump has run will once again depress Republican turnout.

I agree with you about this election - it should have been an easy win, but now it looks like an uphill battle. Trump has set the tone of the campaign and even if he is not the nominee, he has made a mess for the Republican Party to clean up. Just think about the media demanding that every Republican for a Senate or House seat go on the record agreeing with or condemning the stupid things that Trump has already said on the campaign trail.

The 2016 campaigns should have been a happy time with Republican candidates aggressively attacking all of the failures of Obama, Clinton, and their henchmen and henchwomen in Congress. Instead, it looks like the media will try to make all elections referendums on the most unpopular presidential candidate in modern history. If anybody can make Hillary Clinton, the second most unpopular presidential candidate in history, look good in comparison, it is Donald J. Trump with his 74 percent unfavorable rating among women.

There is still some hope that Trump will fail to win the majority of delegates on the first ballot. But you are right. This divisive primary campaign will make it hard for any Republican to win in November.