Donald Trump, America's current favorite political celebrity, finally went too far, offending his fellow Republican presidential candidates enough to speak against him.  He called Mexican illegal immigrants criminals and rapists, and four years ago he headed the so-called Birthers, questioning President Obama's American citizenship.  Those two indications of Trump's sleazy political opportunism were not sufficient to generate strong objections in the minds of Republican high office seekers.  Ted Cruz, himself of Cuban ancestry, spoke admiringly of Trump after the real estate developer impugned Latin Americans.  Jeb Bush, married to a Latina, sounded reluctant to raise his voice against Trump, even after the latter suggested Bush defends Mexicans because he must, being married to a woman of that origin.
     Republican presidential candidates have gone easy or silent on Trump, although Rick Perry and Lindsay Graham took early stabs at him, and now criticize him without hesitation.  Still, the others were quiet about Trump, until yesterday, when he said that Senator John McCain is not a hero because he was captured in Vietnam.  The statement's logic makes no sense, but Trump's way is the monkey's way of painting a wall with handfuls of shit.  He gets attention, while relative non-entities like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, also running for president (did you know that?), feel the need in a Fox interview yesterday to speak forcefully of "killing" America's enemies; that Obama is not up to the task of doing what he must in our war on terrorism, against the enemies of freedom.  Bobby Jindal wants to kill.  Trump wants to build a fence at the U.S.-Mexico border and make the Mexicans pay for it.  Neither will be president, both are delusional, but Trump shows his willingness to attack every sacred cow, or bull, in the American political scene; thus, he gets airtime. 
     John McCain's war record has been off limits, even when he's demonstrated his inability to make wise decisions (choosing to run with Sarah Palin).  Granted, his war record is his war record.  He was a POW, he was tortured.  Trump, though, attacked a man regarded as a hero, and the Republican candidates just had to respond, outraged.  McCain's reputation, after all, matters so much more to them than the characters of millions of Mexicans.

                                                                                  Vic Neptune