Whatever the motive — and GOP talking points notwithstanding, no one knows yet what the motive was — the attempt to assassinate Donald Trump was horrific.
In addition to the threat to the former president’s life, a man died saving his family, while other attendees were seriously injured in a mass shooting, a phenomenon that has sadly become a near daily occurrence in our country.
It seems callous, perhaps even morbidly inappropriate, to contemplate the political implications of an attack on a presidential candidate, but we’re in the midst of an intense political campaign that was already absorbing the nation’s attention.
So, what effect will the attack have on the election outcome? We simply cannot know with any certainty.
History offers only the loosest of parallels, but the examples we do have from the U.S. and abroad suggest the impact may be murkier than some assume.
Journalists reached first for a comparison to the attempt on President Reagan’s life in 1981. Reagan’s bravery and good humor buoyed the country and raised his approval rating by 13 points, literally overnight.........