Generally speaking, RDS needs to get his ass in gear. All the most recent signs affecting his candidacy have been negative. All of them. You need error-free baseball to beat Donald Trump in a GOP primary. His handling of the abortion issue has been especially bone-headed.

Amazed me when Trump rolled into early-state SC, the home state of two rivals; was endorsed by a U.S. Senator, the governor and half the congressional delegation; and pundits yawned. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

True, RDS isn't officially a candidate yet, which limits his public endorsements. But if he was actually the party elite favorite we've been told he is, Trump wouldn't be raking in all these endorsements either. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

The belief that DeSantis is putting together a mind-bending coalition of party elites tired of Trump isn't exactly being reinforced by the pattern of endorsements. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Would really like to know the back-story of that blasphemous 'God Made a Fighter' ad DeSantis ran last November. Now he won't even tell us if he goes to church. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Interesting that the big bad bully Ron DeSantis is apparently trying to keep his distance from his own abortion law. Not going to work, but it says something about his character. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Trump lost Georgia in 2020, helped lose the Senate there in 2021, got his clock cleaned in the 2022 primaries, and got blamed for a particularly bad Senate candidate in the 2022 general election. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

If you want a clear indication that Trump is indeed the 2024 GOP front-runner, look at the first poll from Georgia, which has to be his least favorite state. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Wonder who told RDS to go to Liberty University and say nothing about his mysterious personal faith; nothing about Jesus; and nothing about the 'unborn' he just saved with his nasty new abortion law? nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Looks like RDS is going to compete with Trump in the I-don't-love-Jesus-but-I-hate-his-enemies approach to the Christian Right. Don't think he wins that fight with the master of manipulation. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

The house was rocking at Liberty U. after a couple of praise songs and a hymn. Jonathan Falwell gave DeSantis a strong intro. Then when RDS started speaking, all the energy went out of the room. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

I circled April 14 on my calendar when I learned RDS was speaking at Liberty. Then he signed a radical abortion law just hours before flying to Lynchburg. Figured he was set up to let his Christian Right freak flag fly. I figured wrong. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Clearly RDS has decided to keep the new Florida abortion bill on the Down Low. If he's not going to brag about it at Liberty, where will he?

Just watched RDS at Liberty. Students were pumped up with religious music, on fire for Jesus...and then DeSantis came out and gave a leaden Rotary Club speech. Lost opportunity; my take on this will appear shortly.

Another problem Haley and Scott share is the unfair but abiding perception they are actually running for veep on a Trump or DeSantis ticket. They may have to rule that out to shake it. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Scott is making a bid to outflank Mike Pence among the conservative evangelicals that are especially powerful in Iowa. He's more interesting than Pence, but also less reliable, as his waffling on abortion shows. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Haley's message is all about electability, and her strategy depends on a Trump-DeSantis murder-suicide scenario that damages their primary and general election standing. None of this is within her control. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Both Haley and Scott are hoping their personal stories of overcoming racism will make them catnip to white conservatives who want to hear that the only discrimination left is aimed at them. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

The odds are very low that Nikki Haley and Tim Scott will both still be serious presidential candidates when their home state of South Carolina votes in early 2024. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

In 2022 I defended voters' exclusive right to decide when Feinstein was too old (after voting against her twice myself because I thought she was too old). But the asterisk I should have added was that she needs to show up for work. nymag.com/intelligencer/…