THE LONG CON

I've never sat in a court room to hear a case tried, but on TV there is frequently a moment like this: A man is accused of murder, and the prosecution has video of the guy slicing through his victim's neck with a chain saw. The defense argues the tape can't be shown to the jury because it's prejudicial.

In other words, it makes the defendant look too guilty.

And often as not, the judge kicks the tape out: The prosecution's best evidence is lost before the trial even begins—for dramatic effect, of course.

But that's show biz. I don't know how stuff like this goes down in real life.

On a related note, I read where Newt Gingrich predicts a big surprise in the coming elections: Republicans handing the Democrats massive defeats. Perhaps because the opposition has gotten too jaded by Trump's low approval ratings.

In my last post I speculated whether or not the President is aware he lies as much as he does, wondering if he's too stupid to be in high office, or—if unaware he's lying—a full-on (and dangerous) case of loony-tunes.

Inspired by Gingrich's forecast, it occurred to me there is a third, and very troubling, possibility:

Trump may be lying on purpose—lying outrageously, in fact—just to draw fire from the media. Bizarre? Consider how like catnip to them his lies have become.

Trump speaks, and network fact-checkers go into overdrive to deconstruct his statement. Trump's spokeswoman rewrites his words so she can offer an explanation. Trump declares the media packed with fake news, and the cycle repeats.

Sure, it makes Trump look bad (to late night comics, at least) but what if it's not all good news for Trump's critics?

Check it out:

Their databases bursting with massively redundant proof of Trump's lack of presidential ability, might not the Democrats get overconfident—like they were after the Billy Bush Weekend, when Trump seemed caught in an unexpected (and clearly fatal) trap of his own making.

(Rather like a video tape of murder by chain saw.)

And yet it made no difference: Trump chewed off his leg, grew another one, and loped to a stunning victory.

Here's what that new leg might look like next time:

As future elections loom, the electorate could become overwhelmed by a sense that Trump is being hounded by the press, harried and chewed up, attacked unmercifully, day after day. Clobbered so relentlessly, in fact, the man might begin to resemble a pitiable underdog, unfairly bullied by over-paid Libtard cynics.

In short, an American President in urgent need of rescue.

Undoubtedly this scenario would energize Trump's base (not that they'd need it).

But might it not also elicit a sympathetic response from others, a response big enough to keep the poor man in office?

(In a recent interview with the [failing] New York Times, Trump suggested media outlets are desperate to see him re-elected in 2020, just to maintain their ratings.)

Okay, I get that this lying-on-purpose scenario is far fetched. It's a con game of Machiavellian subtlety and scope. The big question: Does Trump possess that sort of talent?

Beats me, but if it turns out he does, maybe he should be president for life, the way some of his followers would like to see it.