Donald Drumpf more or less swept the polls in the American Super Tuesday primaries, racking up wins in eight of 11 states and gathering 192 more delegates. Senator Ted Cruz won two other states, including his home of Texas, while supposed-saviour of the GOP Marco Rubio won only in Minnesota.
Most of the talk on the Republican side right now seems to be how to stop Drumpf. Rubio has fizzled; Cruz has yet to take off (and by most accounts is hated by everyone in Congress who has had anything to do with him). Governor John Kasich of Ohio, whose message has been in general far more moderate and traditionally Republican, has only 25 delegates (though he insists he's not leaving the race).
You'd think that would mean Republicans would begin to rally around Drumpf, but this week has seen more internal strife surrounding his candidacy than ever.
On Sunday Drumpf demurred when asked on a news show how he felt about former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke voicing his support for a Drumpf presidency. Virtually all quarters took his comments as a quiet but clear signal of welcome to white supremacists. Drumpf has since tried to walk the comments back as the result of a bad earpiece. Few believe him.
A number of high profile Republicans in and out of Congress have come out saying they would never vote for Drumpf under any circumstance. And Drumpf's one major new supporter, former presidential candidate and current New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, has faced fierce derision for what seems to be a incredibly cynical decision.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton looks to have won seven states to Sanders' four. It's possible Sanders may soon to begin to face pressure to bow out, but it's doubtful that it will have much effect. While Clinton looks to have the support to win the race, and thus far has the clear backing of minorities, Sanders' message and personality continue to resonate in a way that Clinton's simply does not.
Clinton has tried to adjust by largely aping Sanders' cries for justice and fairness. But it's unclear whether she believes in any of what she's saying, or even whether she completely understands the frustrations people are expressing. More than any other candidate still in the race, Clinton represents establishment values. And the momentum on all sides is against that.
One would assume that come the actual election these sorts of concerns will fall to the way side in favour of stopping Drumpf at all costs. (The fury at his possible election really does seem to have picked up this week from all sides.)
But it's not clear that Sanders Democrats will unite around Clinton. Young people detest her, and many have suggested that if Sanders loses, they're either not voting or they're writing him in.
All of which is to say, as the primaries move forward Clinton's greatest challenge is probably not winning, but not winning back those votes.
As has been the case since the beginning, Drumpf's continued success proves difficult to explain. This week saw British comedian John Oliver deliver a brilliant, detailed analysis of Drumpf's flaws (see above) — his astonishing capacity for lying; his race baiting; his Clive Palmer-like shady dealings between his corporate funds and campaign financing. The list goes on and on.
In the New York Times this week, columnist and Christian evangelical Peter Wehner argued that evangelicals' support of Drumpf is antithetical to everything they believe in, insisting that supporting Drumpf is something Jesus wouldn't do.
But it's not clear any of it makes any difference. For those who support Drumpf, such attacks may only go to show he is the straight-talking guy outside the establishment they've been looking for.
And hey, who cares if he is a bigot, as long as he's bigoted in the ways that we are, too. (Fun fact: 6 in 10 Republican voters polled on Super Tuesday support a 'temporary ban' on Muslims entering the United States. 4 in 10 want undocumented immigrants deported.)
So, it remains a very strange time in America. Under Barack Obama the United States has had eight years of largely responsible, idealistic executive leadership. Yet rather than that shepherding in a new hope-filled era, we find ourselves standing before a chasm of largely uncontrolled id.
Jim McDermott is an American Jesuit and screenwriter.