Yesterday, we got so much mail on our recent issue on Donald Trump we couldn’t read it all.

Pro… con… off the wall – readers’ sentiments were all over the place.

But a clever reader mercifully brought the discussion to an end with this quote from fellow Baltimorean H.L. Mencken:

As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron.

All over the world, elections allow the people to express their innermost thoughts and feelings.

This is a big day in Argentina, for example.

Outgoing president Cristina Kirchner is supposed to hand over power to her successor, Mauricio Macri. (If you’re a Bonner & Partners Inner Circle member, you can get the full story from our analysts on the ground in Buenos Aires here.)

But when we looked yesterday, there was dispute as to exactly what time the baton would be passed. And Cristina has let it be known she would not attend the inaugural and would generally make life as difficult for Mr. Macri as possible.

Deep State in Control

Elections are misunderstood.

On the surface they are contests between zombies and cronies. The zombies (leftists, socialists, Democrats) want lots of little handouts. The cronies (rightists, Wall Streeters, Republicans) want fewer but bigger ones.

All the loot comes from the voters – who willingly give up both their money and their liberty believing that, somehow, they are better off for it.

But the real winner is the Deep State. It usually controls the candidates… and continues to gain power and resources, no matter which side wins.

But the Deep State is not immune to setbacks. On the pampas, it must be worried that Macri may actually believe in free markets rather than markets controlled by cronies.