Paul Waldman, explaining in The American Prospect why the job of defending neo-fascist misogynist Donald "Rump" Trump crushes souls (or what little is left of them):
"In a better world, politicians would be able to be completely frank about a situation like this. They could say, 'Yeah, the guy's a monumental pig, not to mention a fool. Who knows what the hell we'll be in for if he becomes president. But I just don't want another Democrat elected, and that's what it comes down to.'As we note in our post below, history will remember those that did.
They can't say that, because we're all so used to talking about presidential campaigns not as ideological contests but as personality contests. So Republicans have to pretend that they oppose Hillary Clinton not just because she's a liberal and they're conservatives—which ought to be more than reason enough—but also because she's some kind of cartoonish psychopath who would strangle your children's puppy if she had the chance. They have to say that Clinton is a worse person than Trump, or that he's somehow more qualified to be president because he's a businessman, or that his can-do spirit is just what we need to clean up Washington.
They don't believe any of it. How could they? But they have no choice but to keep on saying it, no matter how it eats at their souls. Just be glad that's not your job." (emphasis added)
