One of those things is that people tend to, unfailingly, like two things.
Free stuff.
And puzzles.
Regardless of what a lot of broadcast consultants want us, and try to convince themselves, to believe, chances are that your tuning into "Blather and Blah In The Morning" is less about the latest time, temp and weather forecast that you can now easily get on your smartphone and more about "Tacky Tweaky Trivia At Ten After" for the chance to win a free lunch at "Sandy's Sushi City".
Lord knows it can't possibly be to hear Katy Perry or Gaga every eleven point seven minutes.
And, of the two, free stuff and puzzles, it's actually the latter that offers the most appeal.
No matter how fresh the sushi.
There is simply something inherent in human nature that insists we find the solution to any query, question, curiosity or outright puzzle that crosses our radar.
Which brings me to the Donald.
And why anyone in their right, or right wing, mind gives a G.O.P elephant's patoot about getting his blessing to run for President of the United States.
It's a riddle, inside a mystery, wrapped in an enigma.
In other words, it's quite the puzzler, pinky.
Because he's not an office holder, past or present; he's not any official of either or any political party, major or minor; he's not a media columnist or commentator with a faithful following of millions of potential voters.
He's a real estate mogul with more money than God, let alone Albert Pujols.
But multiple zeros on a bank balance do not a political patriarch make.
Basically, the guy is a ReMax agent who can afford really nice suits.
The fact that this status theoretically endows him with the power to make, or break, the candidacies of those running for high office says volumes more about the process itself than the players in the plot.
And, again broken down to its simplest essence, gives us mere mortals serious pause as we consider that the answer to the puzzle may be no more complicated than this.
Money talks.
Only a fool or a child naively believes that money doesn't, and hasn't, played a key role in the political process since day one of campaign one.
From the days of Mark Hanna doling out family dollars to get William McKinley elected to the big business meets ballot box blitzkrieg of the Rockefeller family, the dollars and cents of American politics has been millions and millions of dollars and cents.
John F. Kennedy even publicly joked, at times, about the amount of money his father threw around in the quest to relocate Camelot to the District Of Columbia.
But Trump's purse power has a more in your face, and more insidious, way about it.
And the line of Republican candidates who have felt obliged to request an audience at Trump Tower are looking like the right wing edition of the favor seekers at the wedding of Don Corleone's daughter.
Last time I checked, though, Trump Tower was still located in downtown New York City.
Not 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Or, for that matter, Vatican Square.
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