Jim Goad writes:
He was so dominant in the Republican debates, it was like watching a televised mass murder. But last night he was not acting like a boss. He seemed rattled and chastened and, dare I say, a tad pussy-whipped. This was not the remorseless, city-destroying political Godzilla so many of us had grown to know and love. He sniffled more loudly and frequently than he did in the first debate. He openly pandered to blacks and Hispanics. He even conceded that “Islamophobia” exists, which would have been unthinkable six months ago.
Grumpy and frequently defaulting to duck face, Trump dismissed the Access Hollywood tapes as “locker room talk.” But again he apologized for talking that way. And I fear this may be a fatal self-inflicted wound. Trump’s main appeal was his perceived invulnerability. A year ago he famously told Steven Colbert that he has nothing to apologize for. But here he was, apologizing twice in two days. His chief strength was that he never showed weakness. But these apologies may prove to be the equivalent of Samson cutting his own hair and losing all his strength in the process.
UPDATE — Scott Adams disagrees:
Trump won bigly. This one wasn’t close.
UPDATE — Comments at Steve Sailers’ mostly agree.
