DeSantis’ presidential campaign could be brief

Most great politicians have the skin of an elephant and the memory of a flea. After all, today’s adversary might be tomorrow’s ally.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has it the wrong way around. That means his quest for the Republican presidential nomination will be interesting. And, unless he evolves, it could be brief.

Polls still show DeSantis as having the best chance to defeat Donald Trump in the GOP race. But they also show his prospects rapidly heading in the wrong direction. RealClearPolitics found in its average of polls that in late February, DeSantis trailed Trump by just 13 percentage points. On Monday, however, Trump led DeSantis by 37 points.

DeSantis bets Republican voters want a nominee who has a proven track record of enacting conservative policies and who models Trump’s pugnacity but is not burdened with the former president’s mountain of baggage.

Using GOP control of the Florida Legislature as though it were a campaign billboard, DeSantis has loosened the state’s gun laws; lowered the threshold for imposing the death penalty; expanded school vouchers; and imposed “anti-woke” restrictions on teachers and administrators at every level of public education, including in the state’s universities. He has made it illegal for doctors to provide gender-transition care for minors. To top it off, he signed a bill establishing a 6-week abortion ban, which would be one of the most draconian in the nation.

DeSantis is not helping himself with his obsessive crusade against the Walt Disney Co., which offended him last year by criticizing his “don’t say gay” law banning discussion of gender and sexuality in public schools. Trying to punish a company for statements that had no practical impact — except, perhaps, on DeSantis’ brittle ego.

It also seems really stupid. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced recently the company is canceling plans for a new $1 billion office campus near Walt Disney World that would have created 2,000 jobs.

The Disney thing would just be a loopy sideshow if it didn’t highlight traits that could hold DeSantis back as a presidential candidate: paper-thin skin, a propensity to hold grudges and a tendency to go way too far.

The abortion legislation is a prime example. Last year, before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, DeSantis signed into law a 15-week ban. That restriction is now in effect, even as the state Supreme Court considers a challenge filed by Planned Parenthood and other groups.

DeSantis could have left the issue alone. But he apparently determined that no potential competitor should outflank him on abortion, so he demanded the legislature give him a six-week ban. Lawmakers complied. But it is clear from polls and election results that setting the deadline for terminating a pregnancy at a point before many women even know they are pregnant goes far beyond what even many “pro-life” Americans are prepared to mandate.

Great politicians learn from their mistakes and course correct as necessary. DeSantis seems not to understand that going fullspeed ahead is a bad idea if you’re approaching a cliff.