Perhaps someone in the second tier will be picked for vice-president or will end up in the next president’s cabinet, or their exposure will help win a seat in the House or Senate, or a governorship. But this is not enough reason to continue this overly extended beauty contest.

Support must consolidate soon. Time is wasting. Take out the holidays and by 20 November the caucuses and primaries will be only weeks away. The Iowa caucuses are on 3 February.

If we were going into a normal general election, the huge field of wannabes wouldn’t be a problem. But this won’t be a normal election. These are not normal times. If you hadn’t noticed, Donald Trump is not a normal president.

Impeachment is sucking huge amounts of oxygen from the political air, and will continue to do so for months.

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign is in full gear.