(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party, or candidate, on the part of Newsmax.)
Donald J. Trump will be the 47th United States president.
How so when there are many obstacles for that to happen?
I know about overseas non-military ballots that don’t require identification. I know about the refusal to hire poll-watchers and workers in Detroit. I know about the recent purchase of 200 radio stations, by left wing interests.
I know all the reasons Trump can’t win. But . . . he will.
People ask me what I currently do in politics. My answer, "I count votes."
That means that I read tons of polls and voluminous amounts of political articles. Then I try to figure out what events and decisions will move the needle.
Most don’t.
A few do.
This is not about the circumstances that gave Vice President Harris the Democratic Presidential nomination and consigned President Joe Biden to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
This is about Harris’ free pick for a vice presidential running mate.
Literally, she could have picked anyone in the country over the age of thirty-five.
Standing out like the brightest of bright lights was Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa.
The Keystone State is considered the largest toss-up state in the Electoral College.
Many people believe that if you win Pennsylvania, you win the presidency.
Easy, right? Not so fast.
Kamala Harris, in her first major decision as a presidential nominee, punted.
She passed on Shapiro and picked Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.
Why?
Because the pro-Hamas, pro-Palestine, pro-Iran wing of the Democratic party seemingly said, "No Jews!"
Kamala folded. Why?
She’s looking at 100,000 anti-Israel votes in Dearborn, Michigan. This decision was a colossal political unforced error.
She left Pennsylvania in play to placate the most violent, radical members of her party.
She got it exactly backwards.
This means she sent the message that antisemitism was acceptable at the highest levels of the Democratic Party.
Additionally, she made it clear that the extremists in her party had veto power over her biggest decisions.
What should she have done?
Harris should have picked Gov. Shapiro as her running mate.
Then she should have boldly proclaimed her unity with Israel, not with the terrorist attackers from Gaza. She would have looked . . . centrist, presidential and non-threatening to the public at large.
She would have pocketed Pennsylvania and gained immediate frontrunner status.
Kamala Harris has moved the needle — toward Donald J. Trump.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump picked as his running-mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.
Vance was little known, had high negatives and seemed like a risky choice.
My personal pick was Sem. Ted Cruz, T-Texas.
Harris and Trump knew there was a vice presidential nominee debate in our future.
And what a debate it was. Fifteen minutes in, I turned to my wife and said, "A star is born."
Sen. Vance owned the stage, the viewing public, and the country.
Vance was calm, measured, non-threatening, non-judgmental and humble.
He was everything Trump, Harris and Walz were not.
Vance reminded the public of the accomplishments of the Trump administration, from 2017 to 2021.
Vance calmly explained Trump’s "America First" economic plan.
Respectfully, Trump never explained it so well.
The nation was captivated.
As a friend of mine recently wrote, the men wanted to have a beer with Vance and the women wanted to date him. Walz, meanwhile, in the same debate called himself a "knucklehead" and managed to play the part.
The debate ended and I remarked, "I have seen the future, or at least the next 12 years."
I don’t ever remember a vice presidential debate making a major needle move.
But this one did. And Vance turned a 50-50 race into "Advantage, Trump."
Then came Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Advantage Trump may well become became Trump by a landslide.
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. Read More — Here.