Thoughts on an election shocker

Now that the sedatives have taken effect, here's my not-so-rapid response to Trump's victory.

Donald Trump is the reason it was a close as it was.

It beggars belief that a majority of American voters are actually willing to give that man another four years in the most powerful office on earth.

And yet…I still find myself wondering if any other Republican candidate, like Nikki Haley or even Ron DeSantis, might have done even better. Trump remains an extremely unpopular figure, even in defeat. But he was blessed with an extremely fortunate political environment for a populist right-wing candidate running against an unpopular centrist incumbent. This past year has seen right-wingers do extremely well in elections all over Europe, while incumbents have been falling left and right.

Immigration and inflation brought down the Democrats.

The rate of inflation has fallen in recent months, but that doesn’t mean prices are going down. (Trust me: you real…