Those having trouble making sense of the American presidential election need not worry. It doesn't make sense. Indeed, the ongoing campaign is the weirdest contest for the country's highest office in modern times, owing not just to the number of candidates — there are currently 14 of them, with two or three more expected soon — but also their nature.
The usual question posed to presidential aspirants is: Why are you running? This year, the answer seems to be: Why not? As long as one is not too attached to one's dignity, there is little to lose and a lot to be gained from running. A failed presidential campaign, even a disastrous one, can lead to higher speaking fees, richer book contracts, or a television gig. Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee both failed to win the Republican nomination, but secured seats on cable talk shows.
On the Democratic side, the question asked in political circles these days is not whether Hillary Clinton can win the nomination, but whether she can lose it. The answer is yes — in the sense that anything is possible. Nobody I know thinks she is likely to stumble so badly, but still, the Clintons are known to be accident-prone, and they have been full of surprises — scandals and scandalettes — since they first appeared on the national scene a quarter-century ago. This is why many Democrats back her without enthusiasm.