SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:

ROMNEY MAKES IT OFFICIAL – Mitt Romney received enough of a victory in today's Texas primary to go over the top, and now has enough votes to become the Republican presidential nominee.  This was a foregone conclusion, but the primary gives it a kind of "official" stamp.  There is no news yet on the Democratic side, but President Obama is facing actual opposition and can, some pundits predict, have an embarrassing night.  Stand by.

FACEBOOK LOSES FACE – Shares of Facebook have fallen below the $30 mark, underlining what some have called the most disastrous stock launch in the last decade.  It proves once again that there are no sure thing.  It also proves the degree to which pure hype can distort a market.  Many people are finally asking how a social network like Facebook actually makes money, and how long the money machine can last.  A bit late, I think.

SYMBOLIC VISIT – Senator Marco Rubio of Florida today made his first visit to Cuba since his parents fled the country.  He visited, as part of his Senate duties, the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay.  Obviously, such a high-profile visit will be seen as another move by the senator to stay in the spotlight as Mitt Romney decides on his vice-presidential choice.  My hunch remains that it will come down to a choice between Rubio and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, although we could certainly be surprised by a dark horse.

NOTHING, JUST NOTHING – The United States and some other western countries have responded to the latest Syrian massacre by expelling some Syrian diplomats.  This is an insult to the dead, a minor slap on the wrist for a major murder.  And clownish former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan added to the farce by saying how pleased he was that Syrian President Assad also condemned the killings...even though Assad's forces carried them out.  It is pathetic, just pathetic, and there's a complete absence of American leadership.  Watching carefully is the Iranian regime, a close ally of Syria, which must be very pleased.

May 29,  2012