Ted Cruz isn't really running for president

There is nothing about Cruz that appeals to people beyond his political sect. The one rhetorical move independents and Democrats may relate to in Cruz’s speech was the tribute to his mother as a glass ceiling–smashing computer programmer. But otherwise his mode of speech is much like Mike Huckabee’s: sentimental, broadly evangelical, and reliant on personal charisma. Although it isn’t easy to pinpoint what about a candidate’s personality rubs a larger demographic cohort the wrong way, Huckabee fared terribly among non-rural, non-Evangelical voters in 2008. Cruz may be headed for the same fate…

Cruz also exhorted his audience to “imagine” many things, an America that is “finally becoming energy self-sufficient,” “booming economic growth,” “young people coming out of school with four five, six job offers,” and the eradication of the IRS. He implored us to imagine a president that protects the Second Amendment, repeals every word of ObamaCare, ends Common Core, and stands with Israel.

In other words, imagine an America with no Democrats or Independents. Imagine everything you believe in was implemented instantly, without compromise, and the only consequence was incontestable glory for you, the nation, and all posterity. This is grandiosity as stomach-churning as Barack Obama promising to overcome the red-and-blue state divide, and announcing that his victory would be “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” This isn’t a campaign: its a political fantasy and infomercial. Imagine losing 60 pounds of big government around your waist in just one vote.