Thanks to the recording, however, the suspension of disbelief is untenable – a fact Trump fortified with last night’s hastily produced apology, in which he seemed more annoyed than contrite, and – exhibiting yet more bad judgment – ended on a defiant note about how “Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.”

This tone is consistent with the Trump persona: Always hit back twice as hard – no matter how insignificant the slight, no matter how inappropriate attack-mode is under the circumstances. What’s disturbing is that the Trump persona has been assimilated by his most ardent backers, who not only echoed but foreshadowed his line of defense. The most common refrain is that what counts are the Clintons’ heinous actions, not Trump’s “mere” words. As Trump himself put it, “I’ve said some foolish things, but there’s a big difference between words and actions of other people.”

This is so inane it is hard to know where to begin. Trump was not “merely” speaking on that tape. He was reporting his prior actions and relating his then-current attitudes. These included trying to bed a married woman while he himself was married; expressing the view, based on what he indicated was lots of experience, that women are playthings; and lacing it all with a beyond-weird arrogance and sense of entitlement. (Again, this is nothing that we shouldn’t have known already, but the tape brings it home in a bracing way.)

More to the point, though, Bill Clinton’s abuse of women, which Hillary not only condoned but aided and abetted, is what makes them disqualified – or at least a huge part of it. How does it help Trump’s defense to contend that other despicable, disqualified people are even worse than he is – especially when they are so analogous to him that the comparison instantly suggests itself?