Magical thinking across the political universe Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cupThey slither wildly as they slip away across the universe To no one’s surprise, Donald “91 Counts” Trump handily defeated former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in her home state on Saturday. If there is any news there it is that Haley did not lose more badly than she did. The New York Times offers five takeaways from the day, the Washington Post only three. The Post mentions an exit poll showing that “31 percent of voters said Trump wouldn’t be fit to serve as president if he’s convicted of a crime. South Carolina becomes the third early state to show that at least 3 in 10 voters said a convicted Trump wouldn’t be fit.” But that doesn’t mean they won’t vote for him anyway. “Today is not the end of our story,” Haley told supporters. “I know 40 percent is not 50 percent, but I also know 40 percent is not some tiny group. There are huge numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative.” Where have I heard that before? Nothing’s gonna change my world Milton Friedman wrote in his 1982 preface to “Capitalism and Freedom” that “Only a crisis—actual or perceived––produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. . . .” Nikki Haley hopes to be lying around when the GOP finds its…