海角大神

If there鈥檚 one aspect of the 2016 presidential race in which Donald Trump isn鈥檛 doing well, it鈥檚 big political endorsements.

So far he鈥檚 won the official backing of one US senator (Jeff Sessions of Alabama) three governors (Chris Christie of New Jersey, Paul LePage of Maine, and Rick Scott of Florida) and seven US representatives. That鈥檚 good for only 42 points in the FiveThirtyEight data site鈥檚 , less than half the corresponding number for rival Ted Cruz.

As for newspapers (the superpowers of endorsement, right?) Trump had only one, the New York Observer. And even that was kind of , since it鈥檚 owned by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Whew. Jared and wife Ivanka can now relax and look forward to harmonious Thanksgiving table talk about how Ivanka as a Republican in time to vote in Tuesday鈥檚 New York primary.

But you鈥檒l notice we said Trump 鈥渉ad鈥� the nod of only one paper. This week he鈥檚 landed a big one, the tabloid New York Post.

In a way, that鈥檚 unsurprising, too. The Post is the Trumpiest paper in America. It鈥檚 bold, it鈥檚 brash, it grabs you by the lapels. Over the decades Trump has often appeared on its front page.

But what is surprising is the nature and tone of . It sounds a bit like the editors are talking themselves into marrying somebody who drives them crazy now, but will surely morph into a different person after the wedding.

This starts right up top. The endorsement editorial begins with the Post calling Trump a 鈥減otential superstar鈥� who makes 鈥渞ookie mistakes鈥�.

Then it moves to this: 鈥淪hould he win the nomination, we expect Trump to pivot 鈥� not just on the issues, but in his manner. The post-pivot Trump needs to be more presidential: better informed on policy, more self-disciplined and less thin-skinned.鈥�

Translation: 鈥淎fter the honeymoon we鈥檙e sure Trump will settle down. He鈥檒l quit insulting rivals, figure out the nuclear triad, and there won鈥檛 be any more references to the size of his fingers.鈥�

Then the endorsement nods to Trump鈥檚 promise. It celebrates him as a 鈥渄oer鈥� and accomplished businessman. It says he鈥檚 ripped through the 鈥渕orass鈥� of the nation鈥檚 stale, insider-driven politics.

It says he鈥檚 right to slam the system for being 鈥渞igged鈥�.

And then it dives back towards those 鈥渞ookie mistakes鈥�.

No, the Post opines, pushing Japan and South Korea to go nuclear in their own defense, as Trump has done, is 鈥渘ot remotely a good idea."

Trump鈥檚 famous Mexican-financed border wall? That鈥檚 鈥渢oo simplistic鈥� a policy for a nation of immigrants. Those free-trade deals that Trump excoriates as bad deals for America? Remember that free trade means cheaper goods and challenges US business to improve.

The Post hits his language as worse than his policy. It鈥檚 been 鈥渁mateurish, divisive 鈥� and downright coarse,鈥� according to the editors.

But all this will change of course once the thank-you notes are written and the wedding gifts stowed. Trump will remain the bad boy we love while adding a sort of JFK-Reagan vibe to unite the nation.

鈥淚n the general election, we鈥檇 expect Trump to stay true to his voters 鈥� while reaching out to those he hasn鈥檛 won yet,鈥� the Post concludes.

And we鈥檒l all live happily ever after.