One No Trump

This should have surprised precisely nobody, but I am sure that there were some puzzled, disappointed and relieved people Monday when Donald Trump announced that running for President wasn't worth giving up saying "You're Fired!" each week on national television.

The title of this post is a bridge term and Donald Trump is a bridge to very few things other than perhaps turning the 2012 Republican Nomination race into the ultimate Reality TV Series. I would have paid very good money to see a debate between Trump, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann. Nobody else, they would just get in the way of the insanity. Newt still provides the possibility of some amazing debate banter, but other than lying and changing his political position, he does have a verbal filter that slows down and sometimes stops his brain from saying things that are insulting and hair-brained when the cameras are rolling. Donald Trump has no such filter to stop him from saying things that even a comedy writer couldn't come up with.

Don't get me wrong, I love Donald Trump and I am a regular viewing of whatever flavor of The Apprentice he is unleashing on the viewing public. But my love of watching Trump is similar to watching an impending train wreck. It's sick, I know, but I...just...can't...turn...away.

Mainstream Republicans (I know, there is an entire article waiting to be written on whether that term is an oxymoron) probably breathed a sigh of relief when Trump announced his decision not to run for the Presidential nomination. However, they really need to be thankful for Trump. Here is a list of his accomplishments:

1) Trump made it clear that Birthers are unstable and should not see the light of day. His craziness did force President Obama to publicly show that yes, they were all crazy. This will stop being an issue for the Republican party to defend itself against.

2) Trump showed that Obama can take out anyone. Heck, in one long weekend, he wiped out Bin Laden and Trump. Each got 2 bullets. OBL got the traditional type and Trump got a Long Form Birth Certificate and a Comedy Roast. Other potential Presidential candidates with the potential to damage the reputation of the entire Republican party may look at this and decide not to run. Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann have to be realizing that if they ever went one-on-one with Obama, they may wind up not even being employable by Fox.

3) The Republican Presidential Race was becoming an episode of a Looney Tunes cartoon. The best way to make sure everyone realizes that certain people are crazy is to put someone even more crazy next to them. I am reminded of a wonderful episode of the TV series "Ed" when John Slattery as Dennis Martino, the school principal, ran for Student Council President from the "Jackass Party" to show how useless the leading candidate was running for the "Party Party". In a very perverse and occasionally disturbing way, Donald Trump returned the Republican Presidential Race to sanity by taking all the craziness with him.

The biggest losers from The Donald's announcement, in fact, perhaps, the only losers are late night show comedians and Saturday Night Live. But I have no doubt they will come up with something.