[Hoot Gibson]

Frankly, I thought Trump's answer was just about as pointed as any I have heard in memory. He did not dodge when Matthews turned up the heat on him. I don't know, now that Trump has blazed the path for the rest again we may hear Cruz get on board with the idea that women should not expect to break the law without repercussion.

The question I heard was 'IF' abortion was outlawed, should there be a punishment attached for women who do it anyway. Now, I know it's in vogue these days for Presidents to sidestep and maneuver around the law, but normally one would not expect to hear a candidate for President advocate for law breaking without "some form of punishment." I really don't get it, and if I were advising the Trump campaign, I'd have him go into depth on the matter. How it happened, exactly what Matthews asked him and then I'd point out that he is THE ONLY guy with big enough nads to call out the bad behavior of the women who have abortions with far less consideration than most people suffer when for reasons of failing health, they are forced to have their pet euthanized. I mean, when does it get serious enough to do something about it? We've slaughtered, depending on who you might ask, 60 million here in this country alone since 1973. BTW, according to the ruling Congress has barred the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortions, except when the woman’s life would be endangered or in cases of rape or incest. Yeah, right.

If there is anything on Cruz, they're saving it for a nuclear strike. But, when you think about things for just a second, it's pretty clear that every possible effort is being made to dig up anything possible on Trump. The jerk down thing with Fields, the abortion answer to Matthews which Pastor Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas agreed with, it's a put on. There's no proof that Trump is a misogynist, but there certainly is ample for his being tagged with the tried but true war on women sign. The thing that is incredible to me is that it actually seems to be working for the anti-Trump forces.

It took huge 'nads to say that women should be punished for having illegal abortions and then, reacting to criticism, take the opposite position, and then change that position again, all within a three hour period. That was a real profile in courage.

Trump panicked because he was asked a question that he had obviously not thought about before. If he was a man of principle and spoke truthfully from the heart or from the brain, then he would have shown some courage of conviction and not backed down.

Short of discovering that Trump is holding women as sex slaves chained to strip club poles in his home, what evidence is needed for Trump followers to understand that he is a misogynist? Misogyny does not require a man to hate sex and Trump's problems dealing with women did not start with this campaign.

Wide is right about Trump. He stumbles when he is asked for details on his abortion stance, because he is trying to give the "right" answer - not explaining any deeply held moral position against it. Morally, punishing women for having illegal abortions may be the right thing to do, but that position is not going to move this country closer to overturning Roe v. Wade and it is not going to save a single baby's life. But Trump's position of punishing women only lasted for an hour or two, so you cannot really give him much credit for voicing it, can you?

In a general election campaign, Trump will dodge the abortion issue as much as possible if he is the nominee. Cruz has never hesitated to defend his opposition to abortion to the pro-abortion zealots.

Trump, with his five draft deferments, and his steadfast refusal to debate Ted Cruz now that there are only two viable candidates in the race, is far from being courageous and the majority of Republicans have recognized that fact. That is why he has been unable to, as he so courageously puts it, dispose of the "left overs" of his campaign opponents. It is why he cannot afford to go to the convention with less than a majority of delegates pledged to him. And it is why he is whining so much about the rules that were already in effect at the time he entered the race.