Morning Glory: Why Donald Trump should select Tom Cotton as his running mate

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Michael Barone is a political genius, best known perhaps for his "Almanac of American Politics" which he co-authored for decades, but from the labors of which he retired a few years back. Barone is the author of numerous other books, all excellent, but the one that has stuck with me over the years is the lesser known "Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future (Crown Forum, 2004).

In a nutshell and with apologies to Barone for this way too short summary, "Hard America, Soft America" sets aside all the usual rules of dividing up the U.S. such as Red v. Blue, old v. young or other demographic divisions. Rather, "Hard America" is the America of farm, factory and frontier —the country of clear-eyed realists acquainted with the way the world really works, familiar with its often profoundly unfair twists and turns of life, and deeply familiar with the old adage: Work or don’t eat.

"Soft America" is, by contrast, the gooey stuff of the New Age nonsense of a few decades ago plus every cliche on every sign in every yard that proclaims "all are welcome here," etc. At bottom," Hard America" is hard-edged and realistic about the world. "Soft America," not so much, if it all.

'BIDENOMICS' FALLS FLAT WITH VOTERS AS TRUMP TAKES HUGE LEAD IN NEW POLL

Rarely have we had two presidential candidates who embody Hard America and Soft America so thoroughly as former President Trump and President Biden. Even before the damning Hur report was made public, the public had concluded that President Biden was too old for the job —too befuddled, too, in a word, "soft."

86 percent thought that much according to an ABC News poll even before Special Counsel Hur