YIN VS. YANG: Tell me I was dreaming. I woke up this morning convinced Chumash Casino had booked the ultimate pay-per-view knock-down-drag-out in the heavyweight class: The Pope versus Donald Trump. And if not, my question is, why not? It would feature the ultimate confrontation between the best and worst angels of our nature. And who else on the Planet could concoct such a spectacle but the folks running the show up at the casino?
At this nanosecond in history, I recognize that bagging further on The Donald has become the equivalent of beating a dead horse with two hoofs tied behind its back. For 30 years, Trump has burned through many fortunes — the man’s worth $8.7 billion even though he’s declared bankruptcy four times — by cornering the market on ugly and offensive. To let Trump’s latest diatribes against Mexican immigrants get under your skin — they’re rapists, drug dealers, not to mention the very worst elements of Mexican society, but some, he said he assumes, “are good people” — is to fall hook, line, and sinker for one of the most obviously cynical branding campaigns ever.
But this time might be different.