Who are the presidential candidates who have done surprisingly well?  This isn’t a question of who you think will win or who is winning in the polls.  Who is doing better than expected?

I think there are three obvious choices: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Bernie Sanders.  They are not establishment candidates.  They are outsiders, at least compared to most of the rest of the field.

Sanders is a senator, but he is a little out there in more ways than one.  The establishment could deal with Sanders, but they don’t really want to.  He actually shows some opposition to war and the spy state.

The establishment could learn to live with Ben Carson.  Again, they would much prefer someone they can fully control such as Bush or Rubio.

The establishment hates Donald Trump the most.  They would prefer Rand Paul at this point over Trump.  It isn’t that Trump holds a lot of views unfavorable to the establishment.  It is just that he can not be bought with money.

It is obvious that many American voters are fed up with the status quo and want to see something different.  This is why these three are doing well in the polls.  I don’t expect Sanders to overtake Clinton, but he is still doing surprisingly well.

With Trump and Sanders in particular, there is a common theme.  They are resonating with the public because they are feeling their pain.  Obviously Trump has nothing in common with the average middle class American in terms of dealing with financial struggles.  But he at least acknowledges their pain.

Sanders and Trump are continually saying that Americans are taking it on the chin.  I think people want this recognized because it is true.

Now their solutions are horrendous – Sanders more so than Trump.  But at least they are offering something.

If someone feels sick and goes to the doctor, most people would prefer a doctor who prescribes something or gives some kind of suggestion to get better, even if it ends up being wrong.  Most people will resent a doctor who tells the patient that it is all in their head and that they really aren’t sick.

In other words, many Americans are looking for some empathy.  They at least want it acknowledged that times are tough and that the middle class is getting royally screwed.

This is where Rand Paul really blew it.  He messed up a lot of things with his campaign, but this was such an easy message that he missed.  He should have simply agreed with Trump on the struggles of the middle class and then gone on to offer a different solution.

Rand Paul’s strategy from the beginning was to appeal to his father’s libertarian base, while also bringing in other conservatives who are far less libertarian, such as some Tea Party people.  Instead, Paul just turned off both factions with his wishy-washy answers.

But here was one issue where he could have told the truth and he really could have appealed to both factions.  He just needed to strongly acknowledge the plight of the middle class.  And his answer should be less taxes, less spending, and less inflation.  Paul and his advisors completely missed the boat on this one.

The basic problems in the economy right now is too much government spending, too much government regulation, and too much Federal Reserve monetary inflation.  This has resulted in the cost-of-living rising faster than incomes.  In other words, real incomes are falling.

The consumer price index can help us see trends in consumer prices, but it is not an accurate reflection of our cost-of-living in comparison to our wages.  In most cases, the cost-of-living raises that people are getting in their jobs are not even enough to offset the increased premiums in their health insurance.  And while prices aren’t skyrocketing for things such as food and cars, they are going up.

Life is expensive and wages are not keeping up.  They especially aren’t keeping up when you take out all of the taxes.

This is really where most of the candidates fell short.  Trump and Sanders have exploited this opportunity just by pointing out reality.  Sanders wants to tax the rich and have a bigger welfare state.  Trump wants to tax the rich too, although to a lesser extent.  He wants to start a trade war with China.

They are both bad on economics.  But at least they recognize that the patient is sick.  The patient wants a doctor who believes him.  The patient doesn’t want to be told that everything is fine when he knows that everything is not fine.