Red and Blue Agony by Elizabeth Drew for the New York Review of Books provides a thorough and clear overview of the presidential campaign circa Thursday, May 26, 2016. Yikes, for sure!

Kurt Eichenwald wrote The Scandal Over Clinton’s Emails Still Isn’t a Scandal for Newsweek. It’s an absolute must read piece, which is why FB followers of Mark Rubin Writes have seen it already. A tempest not in a teapot, but in a thimble. The real story? Yet more in a history of national political malpractice Secretary Clinton or those who handle her.

Russell Berman has A Possible Republican Truce on Obamacare for The Atlantic. He’s reporting on—and no, I’m not making up the name of the bill—H.R.

Crain’s New York Business is a really fine newspaper. Aaron Elstein, for Crain’s, wrote Trump Qualified for a Tax Break for New Yorkers Making $500K or Less last week. Mr. Elstein reported on the intersection of Donald Trump and the New York State School Tax Relief Program. Mr. Trump is, well, you know who he is. The tax relief program—STAR is its acronym—offers a $300 tax break for married couples making less than $500,000. Well, guess which “I try and pay as little tax as possible, because I hate what they do with my tax money” candidate claimed the $300 credit? Go on, guess! Of course, and I know this will shock many, his campaign manager—Corey “I hit women” Lewandowski—blames

The Mind of Donald Trump by Dan McAdams for The Atlantic is a must read. Truly! But if you’re busy and only have time for the Curator, here’s the money quote about Mr. Trump in the piece, borrowed from New Yorker writer Mark Singer: “An existence unmolested by the rumbling of a soul.”

New Yorker columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman wrote It Takes a Policy for the New York Times this week. Mr. Krugman focuses on our very poor national record of providing for young children. What the Curator got from the piece was the very small amount of money it takes to go from spending comparable to Estonia to being on a par with France. It’s a

I recall, months and months ago, reading about The Huffington Post’s decision to ignore Donald Trump. I don’t think it mattered one whit—he’s a phenomenon we will suffer with for at least another six months. So, from the Trump desk:

Think Donald Trump can never be elected? Read The Quiet American by Franklin Foer for Slate, about Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s new Big Dog.

Norm Ornstein from the American Enterprise Institute, who with his Brookings Institution colleague, Thomas Mann, wrote It’s Even Worse than It Looks (updated in 2012 and retitled It’s Even Worse than It Looks Was) was way out front on “better take Trump seriously.” In The Political Scientist Who Saw Trump’s Rise Coming, Andrew Prokop interviews

Democracies End When They Are Too Democratic. So says Andrew Sullivan, writing for New York on May 1, 2016. Plenty provocative, which is just what anyone who has read Andrew Sullivan expects. Deep, deep stuff, but well worth the time!

From the campaigns, Amy Davidson has Ready or Not for the New Yorker. The sub-header tells the story: “Paul Ryan’s Donald Trump Problem.” For The Atlantic Ron Fournier has written Ted Cruz Deserves Some Credit. Mr. Fournier’s thesis? “What if more politicians wander away from their sympathetic crowds to engage directly with people of opposing views?” (Still and a*shole, and I’m not referring to Mr. Fournier!”) Finally, and this piece really resonated for me, take a look at This

The Ideological-Operational Divide in the G.O.P. by Jeffrey Frank for the New Yorker offers some interesting thoughts about the Republican Party, as it has developed between the late 1960s and now. Best line: “Voters tend to favor candidates who offer the hope of better times, and who manage to convey an ability to govern the country (all of it).” We’ll see, soon enough!

The Curator saw a poll yesterday which showed a 46 (Clinton) – 43 (Trump) race, which ought to make everyone take Donald Trump seriously. So here’s Trump’s Putin Fantasy by Timothy Snyder for the New York Review of Books. Mr. Snyder goes deep, and the essay provides yet more reasons to be very focused on

Here’s some very thoughtful—and very, very smart—R-side analysis from Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, in It may be too late for the GOP to stop Trump. Best line?

Polls show that a majority of Republicans agree with the helmet-haired billionaire. It turns out that once you tell people they get to choose their standard-bearer, they don’t take kindly to being patted on the head and told to go sit in the corner.

And from the other side? Here’s Bernie Sanders’s Forty-Year-Old Idea, by Russell Shorto for the New Yorker. This election is one effed-up mess—that’s an observation from a political junkie who is as a sentient being watching his 13th quadrennial election—but every reasonable person can distinguish between

Beverly Cleary, Age 100. The piece is written by Sarah Larson for the New Yorker, and it’s lovely. Happy Birthday, Ms. Cleary.

David Graham has written The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet for The Atlantic. Mr. Graham provides a fine overview of what really matters: who’s got delegates, how many, and how the race for delegates shapes up. Lauren Fox has GOP Delegates Have No Idea What’s Gonna Hit Them in Cleveland for TPM, focusing on the fact that delegates will have to deal with more than fine meals, parties, and hoopla. And then there’s NPR’s piece about the 54 uncommitted Pennsylvania delegates, In This GOP Primary, You Can Win the State But Get Only A Few

The Curator missed the boat last week by failing to honor the memory of Garry Shandling. Mr. Shandling grew up in Tucson and went far, far, far in the world of comedy. RIP! (For lots of laughs, listen to / read How Heartbreak Helped Garry Shandling Find His Comedic Voice from Terry Gross on March 25.)

The Curator also failed to mention Joe Garagiola’s passing on March 23. Joe—he was a friend—was one really nice, very talented man. RIP! (Here’s the St. Louis Post-Dispatch obituary, Catcher, Broadcaster and Hill Icon Joe Garagiola Dies at 90. Best line? Joe, who grew up on the same block with lifelong friend Yogi Berra, said: “Not only was I not the

From the Trump desk: The Palm Beach Post has Trump Aide Charged with Misdemeanor Battery Versus Ex-Breitbart Reporter; Trump aide Stephanie Cegielski has quit, and her letter explains why; and here’s the transcript of the Donald’s meeting with the Washington Post Editorial Board. Best exchange?

RYAN: You [MUFFLED] mentioned a few minutes earlier here that you would knock ISIS. You’ve mentioned it many times. You’ve also mentioned the risk of putting American troop in a danger area. If you could substantially reduce the risk of harm to ground troops, would you use a battlefield nuclear weapon to take out ISIS?

TRUMP: I don’t want to use, I don’t want to start the process of nuclear. Remember the one thing