Reason vs. Unreason: This is the major contest, leaving all policy details aside. The New York Times pointed out that the various Republican hopefuls were outdoing themselves in extremism, making claims and charges against Obama “that would be laughable if they were not an insult to intelligence and the president.” One can make light of seeing one right-winger after another bob up to challenge Romney’s all but certain nomination. As one late-night comic said, “How many more clowns do you have in that car?” It has been a circus of irrationality.

Unreason tells a host of fabrications as part of its twisted narrative. There’s the deportation of all illegals, for example, which has no chance of ever happening. But even the moderate alternative (moderate in this surreal landscape, that is) of Mitt Romney goes further into irrationality. Whether he means it or not, Romney vows to allow states to make abortion illegal, to lower taxes for the rich even further, to double the size of Guantanamo, reinstate torture, and gut both Obamacare and financial regulations.

Each voter must decide which trend to support. Even if, as suspected, Romney reverts to being a Massachusetts moderate Republican, he will have to contend with the ultra-ideologues in the House and Senate. There is a widespread shrug of the shoulders among many Democrats, taking the attitude that “Romney wouldn’t be so bad.” But this in essence is a silent vote for unreason and a kick in the teeth to President Obama and his complete loyalty to reasoned policies.