TRUMP BLUNDERS – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  Donald Trump goes too far.  Some people consider it part of his charm.  A guy who "tells it like it is."  But as we get closer to an actual presidential election, the charm is wearing off.  Americans want a president, not a guy who thinks that negotiating with Putin is the same as negotiating with interior decorators. 

Now Trump has, not for the first time, stepped into dangerous territory, and it's costing him.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) Donald Trump, under fire for suggesting that George W. Bush shared in the blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks because they happened during his presidency, repeatedly declined to engage with reporters about the matter Friday night -- opting instead to continue a long-running feud with Jeb Bush on Twitter afterwards.

Trump regularly speaks with reporters at campaign events and often takes multiple questions in an impromptu manner, making his silence Friday all the more noticeable.

When asked by CNN after a rally at a local high school here if he thought the attacks were George W. Bush's fault, Trump, after pausing to listen to the question, walked away.

Minutes later, he again declined to say anything when asked to react to Bush's response on Twitter, ignoring at least half a dozen questions on the matter before driving away in his motorcade. He did respond to questions about the crowd size at his campaign event Friday and why he was campaigning in Massachusetts.

The controversy began Friday morning when Trump implied that the former president could share some blame for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, as he was in office at the time.

"When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time," Trump said on Bloomberg TV.

Bloomberg anchor Stephanie Ruhle interjected, "Hold on, you can't blame George Bush for that," before Trump stood by his comments.

"He was president, OK? ... Blame him, or don't blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign," Trump said.

Jeb Bush angrily responded Friday afternoon, calling the comment "pathetic."

COMMENT:  It is pathetic.  Like Trump's ridiculing of John McCain's war record was pathetic, and his disparaging remarks about Carly Fiorina's looks were pathetic.  After a time, the "pathetics" begin to build up.

Trump looked truly shaken last night when confronted by reporters, as if he knew, or had been told, that he'd committed a major blunder.  Only crackpots and conspiracy theorists blame George Bush for 9-11. 

So far, Trump has overcome all his blunders and foolish statements.  But there may be a limit.  My own feeling is that he has distorted the campaign on the Republican side, and has taken attention away from far more qualified candidates.  Politics is partially show business, but it isn't entirely show business.  Nor is it entirely ego. 

October 17, 2015