Keller @ Large: Bill Weld's Blown Opportunity
BOSTON (CBS) - When he jumped into the presidential race as number two on the Libertarian ticket recently, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld seemed on a mission to strip some of the bark off Donald Trump.
In an interview, Weld chose to compare Trump's plan to deport 11 million immigrants here illegally with Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi-era slaughter of German Jews. "I can hear the glass crunching in the ghettos," he said.
That's about as harsh a comparison as you can make, and understandably enough, the Trump campaign didn't appreciate it.
A spokeswoman quoted Trump's response to Weld: "I don't talk about his alcoholism, so why would he talk about my foolishly perceived fascism?"
To that, according to the New York Times, Weld said: "I'll let that ride."
That's a blown opportunity.
Trump's adversaries aren't going to get anywhere by comparing his policies to those of the Nazis. The principle of enforcing immigration law makes perfect sense to many voters, and if Trump's plan is absurd, his critics should explain why before reaching for hysterical analogies.
Instead, Weld should have called out Trump's own hysteria.
Something like: Millions of Americans struggle with drinking and other forms of addiction. That Trump sees this as an object of ridicule lends insight into what life under his presidency would be like.
That response from Weld might have opened some eyes.
Which is a much better idea than trying to preach to closed minds.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
