I think this commentary by O'Reilly from Monday, April 4th, on the rise of Trump...
...does a good job of explaining not only what caused Trump to run, but also what has made his run over the last 6 months so successful. If the GOP at multiple turns had not betrayed its own base, Trump likely would not have run, nor would the public (including the GOP voter-base) be so receptive to him.
Likewise on the Democrat side. The voter-base, beyond being "angry", is also terrified of what lies ahead. We've had interest rates pretty much at zero for 10 years, and "quantitative easing" printing money for banks to lend and keep the economy going, and to buy our own treasury bills that Japan and China are no longer buying. There is great concern that we are heading for another depression, or worse, such as the collapse of the U.S. dollar, or a wider Islamic war that could bring Iran, Russia or China into the mix.
And from that perspective, when we're already headed for the cliff with the status quo candidates, taking a risk on Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders becomes a lot more palatable. A wildcard that at least has a chance of changing course away from the cliff.
