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This is the political scene, a weekly conversation with New Yorker writers and editors about politics. It's Friday, September 16th. I'm Dorothy Wickenden, executive editor of The New Yorker. No one has been more surprised by this campaign than the members of the press assigned to cover it. Here's Anderson Cooper interviewing Donald Trump in July 2015 before the start of the primaries when there were 16 Republican candidates.

I think I know the answer to this question. Would you accept a vice presidential position if it didn't work out for you for president?

I mean, you're doing great right now. But it's not that I wouldn't. It's a phenomenal position. I, you know, when I think it's a very powerful position. It's not for me. I love what I'm doing. I'd rather be doing this. I have buildings all over the world. I'm not doing this to be president. I'm doing this to make America great again. You rule out the idea of running as an independent party candidate or third party candidate if for some reason you don't get the GOP nomination.

Everybody asks me to do it.

I have had so many people saying, would you run as an independent?

Would you run as a third party candidate?

And I think, you know, they see the kind of votes.

I'd get a lot of votes.

A few of our own political reporters are here to discuss how we ended up with two presidential

candidates whom voters deeply distrust and dislike. Evan Osnose, Margaret Talbot, and Ben Wallace

Wells. Welcome, everyone. Hi, Dorothy. Evan, let's start with you. Recriminations are flying

among members of the press and the party establishment about how

this race has been covered. Just this morning, I read a story saying that Clinton's campaign was

...