Coming 82 days before the general election, the staff changes had the distinct bouquet of desperation rather than the kind of routine and orderly “expansion” that the candidate and his senior advisers were saying. Staff shake-ups, however, are no substitute for a candidate with a clear sense of himself, his message and what it takes to win a general election. Letting Trump be Trump won’t instantly solve the weaknesses he has demonstrated as a general-election candidate. But he began the general-election campaign with a distinct lack of understanding of the differences between it and the primaries. He appeared not to understand the dynamics, the demographics or the geography of a winning general-election contest.

Source: Washington Post August 17, 2016 16:57 UTC