BAD MOVES – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  There is some real ugliness in the wake of Speaker Paul Ryan's announcement that he cannot yet endorse Donald Trump for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party.   We should note, in Mr. Ryan's defense, that Trump is only the presumptive nominee.  He has not yet been nominated.

And yet the response to Ryan has been mean-spirited and inappropriate.  Sarah Palin, ever determined to destroy what's left of her career, has announced she will work to defeat Ryan in his Congressional district.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) Sarah Palin will work to defeat House Speaker Paul Ryan by backing his primary opponent in Wisconsin, the former Alaska governor told CNN's Jake Tapper.

Palin said in an interview that airs Sunday on "State of the Union" that her decision was sparked by Ryan's bombshell announcement to Tapper last week that he wasn't yet ready to support Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee. Palin endorsed Trump back in January.

"I think Paul Ryan is soon to be 'Cantored,' as in Eric Cantor," Palin said, referring to the former Republican House majority leader who was ousted in a shocking upset in 2014 when challenger Dave Brat ran to his right in a Virginia primary.

"His political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people, and as the leader of the GOP, the convention, certainly he is to remain neutral, and for him to already come out and say who he will not support is not a wise decision of his," Palin continued.

COMMENT:  I used to be such a Sarah fan, but that romance is over.  Ryan never said he wouldn't support Trump, only that he is not ready to give an endorsement.  He clearly wants to bargain over the platform, which is entirely appropriate.  He is also the highest-ranking Republican in the country, and some respect is due him. 

And Trump is now saying he may try to engineer Ryan's removal as chairman of the convention.  Another bad move.  Someone should tell Donald that he doesn't own the Republican Party.  It's not a piece of real estate.  It's a time to heal within the GOP, and it's a time to assert party principles.  Trump has work to do to convince leading members of the party, who have, after all, won elections, that he is worthy.  If he does not show some respect, he may lose the support of Republicans he desperately needs to win election, and to govern. 

Trump is now saying he doesn't need party unity – that he will attract Bernie Sanders Democrats to his candidacy.  Hmm.  What Republican principles will he use to attract them?

Trump, by his continued crude behavior, is risking that a third party will be formed, one that could make it impossible for him to be elected.   He's also risking a "Republicans for Hillary" movement.  There are already rumblings. 

We're constantly told that Trump will be more "presidential."  I'm waiting.   Trump ran a successful, if brutal, campaign to win the nomination.  But the nomination is not the presidency, as President McGovern or President Dukakis could have told him. 

May 8, 2016