America's Berlusconi ?  

I'm still slightly shocked that Donald Trump (would be seizer of Iraq's oil) has managed to clinch the Republican nomination for the presidential election.

One of the more interesting pieces of commentary on Trump in recent weeks was Andrew Sullivan's elitist article in NYMag, declaring "right now, America is a breeding ground for tyranny" - Democracies end when they are too democratic (criticised here and here and here).

Another observer of the Trump circus act has been Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams, who has long been arguing that Trump is much smarter than he looks or acts, as he is focusing on persuading people rather than appealing to logic (however he admires Trump for it rather than despising him as Sullivan does).

One person who seems less alarmed about Trump than almost everyone else is Bruce Sterling (perhaps because he is far better at imagining dystopias than your average political journalist). Chairman Bruce thinks Trump will be America's Berlusconi rather than its Mussolini - a circus clown act to distract the masses while the pillaging continues apace.