With three months to go before the first Iowan enters a church basement to caucus, it’s way too early for any candidate to wallow in self-pity, even one who has recently found that the party establishment he was counting on is no longer a rampart against rogue outsiders.

Cheer up. Even if running for president is really, really hard, it sure beats digging ditches, mopping floors or processing insurance claims. You have millions of other people’s dollars to allow you to fly around to raise yet other millions to spend on making yourself the leader of the free world.

You have aides to tell you what to say and handle incoming fire. The days last well into the night, but most of the people who show up really, really like you. The campaign is long enough you have time to fix your mistakes.

As Clinton circa 2008 could tell Bush, inevitability is not your friend, juggernauts are over, shock and awe doesn’t happen in war or presidential races. Do not whine. Do not show surprise that the crown isn’t being passed to you because of your last name. Accept, quietly inside you, what you cannot change: outsiders are way cool right now but probably not forever.