The concluding paragraph in the Washington Post's announcement that "Trump won't run for president in 2012," pretty much says it all from the Republican front:
Trump's decision not to run is likely to be greeted by a sigh of relief by most Republican Party strategists who viewed Trump as a major distraction for the more serious contenders for the nomination.
To those who have consistently viewed the spectacle put on by this ostentatious, thin-skinned man as nothing less than vanity and nothing more than showmanship, it fortunately is the end of, as the Post puts it, a "circus-like" distraction.
Sadly this jester had to smear the birth credentials -- and the good name -- of a sitting President to get traction in his short-lived "campaign."
But even more sad for our country, it is this very same issue -- the birther issue -- that propelled his standing in the polls. As Trump himself proudly claims in his announcement:
This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country.
Even more indicative of this man's egomania, he had the impudence to crow that he was so proud of himself because he had "accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish," when the President released his long form birth certificate.
But what else does The Donald have to say about his decision not to run?
The arrogance we have become so accustomed to: "I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election," and an affirmation of what is truly important to this very wealthy man: "Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector."
A few weeks ago, reflecting on Trump's "birther" activities, I wrote:
Mr. Trump's irascible embrace of the widely discredited and condemned "birther" movement so early in the presidential campaign has become his own sword of Damocles -- one that will eventually shatter his presidential ambitions.
I would like to claim that I was prescient. However, anyone with eyes, common sense, and the least bit of discernment would have predicted this outcome.