SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

MAJOR PANDER – Bernie Sanders took the pander prize at tonight's Dem debate with Queen Hillary.  From The Hill:   Bernie Sanders stumbled on a question at Sunday's debate over whether white Americans can empathize with blacks, stating that white people don't know what it's like to be poor.  "When you are white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto, you don’t know what it’s like to be poor, you don’t know what it’s like to be hassled when you are walking down a street or dragged out of a car," Sanders said when asked about his personal racial blind spots.   Talk about over the top.  Apparently Bernie never saw those classic photos taken by the WPA of whites living in poverty during the Depression.  And did Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty only seek to help black folks?  The live audience for tonight's debate was predominantly black, and this kind of pandering doesn't help them at all.

AND YET... – Bernie is doing better than expected.  From CBS:   PORTLAND, Maine -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders swept to victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Maine's Democratic presidential caucuses on Sunday, riding a heavy turnout that left some participants waiting for hours to vote in the state.  Sanders, who told supporters he'd win if there was a strong turnout, beat Clinton by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 in voting in hundreds of communities across Maine.  Is this a function of Bernie's popularity or Hillary's weakness, or a combination of both?  Look, no one seriously believes that Bernie will get the nomination.  Hillary continues to build delegate strength, especially in large states with big minority populations.  But Bernie, an obscure senator from the People's Republic of Vermont, is giving her a run for her money, and reminding her that she's unloved by large portions of her own party.  Should the FBI come down hard on Hillary, will she have that many defenders?

BLAIR WORRIES ABOUT TRUMP – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has always been an ally of the United States, expressed open worry about Donald Trump, as did Angela Merkel.  From The Hill:  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed concern about the United States' presidential race on Sunday, saying that European observers are anxious about the prospect of Donald Trump.   In a radio interview with John Catsimatidis, Blair was asked his opinion on the presidential race and responded by laughing. Catsimatidis asked if he was laughing because of the "entertainment value" of Trump's candidacy.
"The entertainment value is high, and there is a certain, I have to say, level of anxiety as to what's happening to America, the most powerful country in the world -- it really matters," Blair responded.  He added that he remains optimistic about the outcome of the campaign.  "I've got long experience with American politics now, and in the end you usually end up in a situation where things right themselves and correct themselves, so let's wait and see what happens," Blair said.  I think Blair means well, and many of us Yanks worry as well.  But I don't think Americans, in their current mood, will be swayed much by foreign opinion.

March 6, 2016