Thomas Friedman, "Beware: Exploding Politics": "Hybrid" Horse Manure. It All Boils Down to Florida and Ohio.

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Will wonders never cease? We now have both former KKK grand wizard David Duke and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan praising Donald Trump. Does this make Trump a "hybrid" candidate?

"Hybrid"? Count the number of times Thomas Friedman uses the word "hybrid" in his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Beware: Exploding Politics." I found 10 instances: "the need for hybrid solutions," "a hybrid of left and right," "educators and local government come together to forge hybrid solutions," "a coalition of far-right media and money people who have created a closed loop of incentives for bad behavior and never getting to hybrid," "a system that nationally incentivizes polarization and prevents hybrid solutions," "hybrid compromises, not dogmatism," "His [Obama's] instinct has become hybrid," "a totally new hybrid politics," "His [Trump's] hybrid is an incoherent mess," and "a new, mature, hybrid center-right version." Such erudition on the part of Tom Terrific!

Given that I drive an old hybrid Incyte, which is full of dog hair, I suppose that I should be feeling pretty good about myself this morning. But I'm not - particularly after parsing the Super Tuesday scorecard. Actually, I'm experiencing more than a little nausea.

Friedman concludes his gem of an opinion piece with a prayer to the Almighty concerning the Donald:

"But please, Lord, keep him away from the White House."

At least we agree on something. Now if only Rubio can win in Florida, and Kasich can win in Ohio, however, that might indeed demand divine intervention.

Paul Krugman, "Planet on the Ballot": There Is Someone Worse Than Hillary

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In a New York Times op-ed entitled "Planet on the Ballot," Paul Krugman begins by observing:

"We now have a pretty good idea who will be on the ballot in November: Hillary Clinton, almost surely (after the South Carolina blowout, prediction markets give her a 96 percent probability of securing her party’s nomination), and Donald Trump, with high likelihood (currently 80 percent probability on the markets). But even if there’s a stunning upset in what’s left of the primaries, we already know very well what will be at stake — namely, the fate of the planet."

The probability of Hillary winning the Democratic nomination is 96 percent? Oh really? Doesn't it depend on whether or not the FBI recommends indicting her? True, there are those who would vote for her even if she was convicted.

The probability of Trump winning the Republican nomination is now 80 percent? Does this take into account his failure to repudiate David Duke's endorsement? In fact, there are those who don't care if Trump has the support of the KKK.

Save the planet? Both Hillary and Donald are guilty of making excessive use of private jets, which poison the environment with carbon emissions. They both "stink" on the environmental issue.

My fervent wish is that Donald goes back to hosting reality shows and Hillary returns to giving speeches to financial institutions, provided they are still willing to pay her if she is no longer a presidential aspirant.

But if worse comes to worst and there is no third party candidate, Hillary's election merely spells the end of the rule of law in America. Also, her foreign policy recommendations as secretary of state were tragic. The alternative? I cannot even begin to imagine allowing Trump's index finger anywhere near the launch button of America's nuclear arsenal. Yes, there is someone worse than Hillary.