Perfidious Rafael? The competition to come up with a better Trumperic epithet for Ted Cruz than “Lyin’ Ted” yielded these suggestions:

1. Creepy Ted 2. Sneaky Ted 3. Cheatin’ Ted 4. Dirty Ted 5. Tricky Ted 6. TwisTed 7. Cryin’ Cruz  8. Shifty Ted 9. Slippery Ted 10. Two-Timing Ted

I’m partial to #3, “Cheatin’ Ted.” Throws a net over Trump’s process complaint — that Cruz is trying to unfairly deny voters their choice — while flicking at that (unproven) National Enquirer story. The latter subtlety might get Trump in trouble, though, precisely because the Enquirer‘s evidence was so thin (which is also why #10 is over the top). ….Number 5 works, but its Nixonian echoes would distract more than they’d amplify — “Was Nixon really like Cruz? Hmm. I’ll get up and get a beer and think about it.” …. That leaves #2, #8 or 9. They accurately capture Cruz’s semi-clever keep-the-options-open positioning on the issue I follow, immigration. Any of them seems better than “Lyin’ Ted,” which is too crude and generic (even if he lies). …

Thanks to alert kf readers for all the negativity!