Ted Cruz was on the road in New Hampshire today and the subject of Bob Dole’s prediction of an electoral apocalypse should Ted Cruz become the nominee. As one diarist noted this morning, if anyone knows about electoral disasters it is Bob Dole.

Oh my. @tedcruz just noted to reporters that Bob Dole opposed Reagan in '80 primary

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) January 21, 2016

This is the actual quote:

Speaking to reporters following a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Cruz said Dole, among others, were looking to continue the “cronyism” and “corruption” of Washington. “If you think of the last time we beat the Washington cartel it was 1980, it was the Reagan revolution, where millions of Americans rose up,” Cruz said. “And I would note that Mr. Dole then opposed Reagan, and said we need someone who can go to Washington who can cut a deal. Well the American people understood that’s not what we needed.”

I’m sure there will be some bleating about Cruz showing a lack of respect to Dole but Dole is the one who interjected himself into the campaign. Personally, I’d have been happy if he was still a pitch man for Viagra and at home trying to keep his Libby happy. Dole comments were not merely wrong, they were a grotesque overreaction to what was simply a passing comment made by Cruz on the ass-kicking Dole received in 1996 (full disclosure, I voted for Dole in 1996).

Dole is by all accounts a nice man and he was a loyal servant of the nation. But he’s not a conservative in any way, shape, or form. He’s a Donald Trump with better manners. All that ever mattered to him was cutting a deal.