By Charlie Gerow

What's wrong with this picture?

Republican strategist Charlie Gerow (PennLive file)

Charles Koch, half of those "Koch Brothers" the left-wing has spent the past few years excoriating, is openly flirting with the prospect of supporting, or at least voting for, Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump names as his national finance chairman a guy who's given Hillary thousands of campaign dollars -- the legal limit when she was running against Barack Obama.

When that ended poorly he gave the legal limit to Obama.

That same guy is in business with George Soros, who is to Republicans what the Koch Brothers are to Democrats.

Politics has always made strange bedfellows. A peek under the sheets in 2016 already reveals some sights not previously imagined.

The deep divides that now exist are creating alliances that would not have existed even a few months ago.

At that time "conventional wisdom" told us that Hillary Clinton was well on her way to coronation (much like we were told before 2008).

We were also told that: 1) Donald Trump would never really run for president, 2) if Trump ran it would be an amusing sideshow only, and 3) Trump's early successes were a mere aberration and he'd eventually collapse under the weight of his own words and actions.

As Christopher Reeve told us, "Never accept ultimatums, conventional wisdom, or absolutes." So much for the "CW."

Today, Donald Trump is the one awaiting coronation by his party, with even his most ardent foes in the GOP referring to him as the "presumptive nominee."

While there are still those awaiting the crown to be placed on Hillary's head, she's still busy slugging it out with Bernie Sanders, whose vote-getting power against her has been astounding.

There are still months to go.

In the 24/7 news cycle, we get lost to the fact that it will be more than 60 days until the first convention convenes and nearly six months until the November election.

That's several lifetimes in the political world. There will be enough arranged marriages, shotgun weddings and awkward couplings to fill the pages of every tabloid ever printed.

While some Democratic operatives are chuckling over the Trump candidacy, they might want to hold their laughter.

There's something going on in the electorate that hasn't yet been fully comprehended or explained.

It's more than mere anger gripping wide segments of the electorate. They've had it with the failed policies of the Obama administration, especially its inability to get the economy cooking.

They want change.

They want economic growth that makes their jobs and lives more economically secure, as well as protected from terrorists.

We're still in the preliminary rounds, but already the main event is clearly in focus. Sadly, it appears that the fall race will be one of the ugliest in history. It will certainly be divisive.

Hillary Clinton's base of support is among middle-aged-plus women, African Americans, Latinos and Asians.

Donald Trump's base is among older white males. Merely appealing to their natural constituencies will be polarizing.

What some have thought might be a walkover clearly isn't going to be. A recent Quinnipiac poll of the "Big Triple" -- Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida -- shows an exceptionally tight race shaping up.

Even before the gate opens, the race in the three states, two of which have been needed to win for more than half a century, are all too close to call.

In Pennsylvania, with all the advantage a "generic" Democrat enjoys (a 28-year winning streak and a million-vote advantage to start), Hillary only leads The Donald by a couple of points.

Neither candidate has scored well on the question of who will bring REAL change to the country. After hearing about "hope and change" eight years ago, voter skepticism is well placed.

Hillary Clinton's problem is that there's not much runway for her. Voters know her and her record.

They don't trust her, and they don't especially like her. Further dividing the nation with hard-core appeals to the left will only exacerbate her problems and will leave her with little running room.

Trump's challenge is to solidify his party base, which is still very reluctant. While his followers are ardent, many Republicans in Congress, whom Trump will desperately need to form and promote an agenda should he be elected are far from enthusiastic.

How well Donald Trump can wisely use the running lane open to him could be the tale of the tape.

By showing skeptical GOP and swing voters that he has a solid grasp on policies of economic growth, as well as the team and personal ability to get things done in Washington, he can leverage the voters' strong desire for change.