Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, John Cornyn—the whole lot of elected Republicans are sobbing in their beers about what they're stuck with as a presidential nominee, and apparently absolving themselves of any responsibility for creating the party that did this.

Asked about the next debate, Cornyn said: "We'd like to see him do better. Obviously, he doesn't have as much experience as Secretary Clinton — and it showed" at the Hofstra debate. […]

Indeed, GOP leaders publicly and privately have long shown a level of discomfort with Trump's unorthodox campaign — especially in the aftermath of last week's events.

At a press conference to wrap up the pre-election congressional session, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not talk about Trump's impact on the battle for the Senate majority.

"Look to avoid wasting our time here," McConnell told reporters, "this is not something I'm going to discuss today -- the implications of the presidential race on the Senate."