But Trump is not just running against Bushism. He’s running against what it’s a symptom of — the certain kind of insider sophistry that he says defines the political class. That’s why he was onstage at all last night. That’s why he’s in first place now. And that’s why he’s more at home in the GOP than so many want to admit.

To understand how that could possibly be, understand what he’s not arguing.
The typical critique of politics today is that the ruling class has been corrupted by privilege. There’s too much money in politics; there’s too much of a cult of access; the tropes go on and on. Trump’s not saying that. Instead, he’s saying, the ruling class has been corrupted by foolishness. The problem isn’t that “the politicians” have vanished behind the velvet rope. It’s that they’ve vanished up their own rear ends. Obsessed with themselves, they have forgotten who they are. They have lost their way — and ours.

Hard as it is to stomach or say, that is a kind of wisdom so deep, so populist, and so potent that many conservatives can’t help but flutter toward it. Then again, neither can many moderate or liberal Republicans, which is why Trump performs well across all groups.