Whether we shall be in such accord is very much in question. On February 1, the confidence man gained the support of almost a quarter of the caucus-goers in Iowa. On February 9, he won the votes of just over a third of the Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. The good news is that most Republicans in the first two states resisted the allure of Donald Trump. The bad news is that placing second in Iowa and first in New Hampshire makes Trump the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, with the most votes and delegates so far.

Trump can be beaten. Will he be? His opponents have focused more criticism on each other than on him, and some will continue along this path as they move on to South Carolina. Last year’s overconfidence in the political class that Trump would naturally fade (and we plead guilty to this misjudgment) has mutated among some into a kind of fatalism that Trump can’t be stopped.

This in turn provides an excuse for accommodation to and appeasement of him. Power attracts. Winning works. People like to be on the winning side. Politicians yearn to be on the winning side. Lobbyists make a living by being on the winning side. Donors feel satisfaction from being on the winning side. Pundits want to show they “get it” by embracing the winning side. As Trump himself understands, no one wants to be a “loser.”