There is something nutty about this, and not simply because third-party candidates face a difficult road in American politics. Kristol and like-minded conservatives are seeking a vehicle for a conservative candidate for only one reason: The nation’s conservative party just rejected more than a dozen opportunities to nominate someone acceptable to them.

In other words, having started the primary season with more than a dozen champions, then having failed to win the competition within the conservative party, these conservatives are now eager to compete in the even less receptive arena outside the conservative party. You can’t say they lack gumption.