Pres "The Donald", Veep "The Kasich", Justice "The Cruz"

One of the things to love the most about politics is the complete and utter unpredictability of how things can happen quickly.

Less than 24 hours ago, the punditry was furiously analyzing the possibilities of a contested Republican convention.  People were mired in the details of obscure RNC rules trying to figure out how Trump could be stopped from getting the nomination.  The number 1237 was etched into the brain of every political junkie across the political spectrum as the magic number of delegates Trump needed to secure the nomination outright.

Now, with both Cruz and Kasich dropping out of the race, none of that matters.

"The Donald" will be "The Republican"...nominee for President of the United States of America.

Let that sink in for a minute.

OK.  TIME TO MOVE ON.

With Trump as the candidate we can be assured of only one thing.  This will likely be the nastiest and weirdest presidential election in modern times.  As such, a lot of people will tune out.  That means this will be a base driven election.

Fortunately, or not depending on you point of view, Republicans have a ready made way to satisfy all the main legs of the party base and possibly take some of the air out of the #NeverTrump movement.

Trump should say very clearly he would look at Ted Cruz as his nominee to the Supreme Court if the Republicans leave Justice Scalia's seat unfilled.

He should also pick Kasich as his running mate for the Vice President spot.

While Cruz supporters may hate Trump they would love the idea of Cruz on the Supreme Court in a lifetime position.  He would be in position to defend the Constitution in a meaningful way for decades to come.  He would be a staunchly conservative voice to replace Scalia's.  Approving the appointment would also remove Cruz from the Senate where he's not very popular.

The Kasich pick for VP has always seemed obvious.  He has been running for that spot since the very beginning - regardless of what he has said to the contrary.  Kasich delivers Ohio which makes the path to victory easier no matter who the nominee is at the top of the ticket.  He was never going to be conservative enough for the base, but he could be seen as a moderating influence in the VP spot. He is also totally believable as someone "a heartbeat from  the Oval Office."

Doing those two simple things could unite the party in an unexpected way.  Trump clearly has tapped into a populist current.  Kasich provides a lifeline to the establishment. Cruz anchors the evangelical and Tea Party wings.

That would be a potent combination to get out the base and move this election.