Why the possibility of Trump becoming the Republican nominee is a terrible thing

The GOP's nominating process nowadays pretty much guarantees a terrible nominee. If a candidate doesn't do well early in the process, they have a hard time raising funding to stay in the race, so getting some wins early is very important.

However, the early caucuses, primaries, and influential straw polls are mostly in places that favor the most extreme right candidates. The kind of candidate that can appeal to the middle of the road GOP voter, and the moderates, and the independents, and so actually have a chance doesn't do well in those early contests.

If a candidate who has not been extreme right before takes a turn in that direction to do well in those early contests they lose the moderates and independents, and although they might get enough far right support from that to make it through those early contests they don't really gain the far right's trust.

It's not really that terrible. If he became the republican nominee, all it would accomplish would be to hand the election over to the democrats on a silver platter.

And yet the press cannot stop talking about him. If he did not get the ridiculous amount of coverage I bet he would fade quickly.