Let’s get the corny part out of the way right off the top: Effective, patriotic leadership requires individuals to thoughtfully balance political needs and sound policy objectives. The latter cannot exist without the former, but one can certainly get elected with crummy policies, as most of human history will show. 

That is why voters should insist on leaders of good character who can be counted on to usually treat politics as a means, not an end.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the grubby stuff.

Witness Nikki Haley telling Fox News that Ron DeSantis is soft on trans and gay issues because his hugely controversial sex ed ban in Florida doesn’t go far enough. “I think Ron’s been a good governor,” she said. “I just think that third grade’s too young.”