Back in July, the clown car finally attained its maximum capacity of 17, Donald Trump was stumping all over the place and stomping on his Republican rivals. He waved away the dog whistles and took up the bullhorn instead which charmed the base but struck fear into the shriveled heart of the established GOP.
There were urgent discussions about the first GOP debate - having all 15... er, 16... um, 17... candidates on the stage would severely limit the time per speaker. It was suggested that an embattled Reince Priebus was offering inducements for some people to drop out.
As much as Priebus earnestly wanted to cull the field, it seems unlikely that he would have any real ideas of how to do it. Priebus is not known for having ideas.
The beginning of July was a scant 3 months ago, a quarter of a year, yet as we look back on it, we see how much has happened since then in a race that often seemed to be mired down in inertia.
The dawn of July marked the beginning of the second half of 2015, 17 months before the general election. It's Summer. School's out. The sun's shining. Time for kicking back and enjoying some relaxation.
But an ugly crowd is gathering. There's anger and shouting and a great gnashing of teeth.
As the candidates swamp every local fair and convention in Ohio and New Hampshire, it's all too easy for some to become lost.
The candidates jostle one another's talking points to try and find an edge, a wedge that can pry open some space for them to grab media attention. The more extreme they become, the greater the temptation to go Godwin.
Feelings are running high. There's attempts to fire up voters.
Worse, there are plans hatched at the ALEC propaganda center to suppress the rights of millions to vote, plans that are enabled by Republican justices on SCOTUS.
July is the first of only two months during which the GOP sported its full field of 17 presidential wannabes. Remarkably, most of the field claimed that God had chosen them to run for president.
From God's Twitter account, it was evident that some, if not all, candidates had misheard, misunderstood or misinterpreted the signs. It appeared God had something quite different in mind.
Ah yes, God's ultimate plan for Snotty was a joy to behold. But back in July, Snotty still thought he had a chance at the big time.
Rick Perry was still in the race at this stage too. However, his July performance was far from sparkling so Twitter was forced to rummage about in his past to find something interesting to say about him.... or rather, something Perryesque that only Rick would say.
Cruz waved aside the whole birtherism issue... well, in so far as it concerned him personally. It's quite different if he's talking about America's first black President.
Jeb thinks this policy will put him onside with Republican voters. He seemed to be surprised that it didn't go down so well with the seniors he was addressing at the time.
While Jeb talks of "investing" social security funds - giving it to stock market traders to gamble with - Paul Ryan (remember him?) has an even sneakier plan.
But the Republican front runner throughout July is Donald Trump. His favorable/unfavorable ratings reverse seemingly overnight as he calls forth the tea party racists and xenophobes and welcomes them into his fan club.
Trump, the marketer of anything and everything Trump, tries out a range of caps. Though popular with the redneck fraternity, this cap did not make the final four - it wasn't red!
Not only is Trump new to campaigning, his campaign staff are also new to campaigning. Ah well, there's bound to be a few teething problems at the beginning, like left-behind lists of volunteers...
While Trump's run so far had given Reince Priebus severe heartburn and thrown other candidates into unaccustomed shade, he has been a boon for comedians and cartoonists, the best and biggest political joke around!
Happily, that's looking less and less likely as time wears on. Three months down the track and his star is beginning to fall. Back in July, however, it was still on the rise and his rivals were worried.
There was a lot of nonsense written about Trump and Sanders being alike. The following is the only comparison that is true:
I'll leave the last work to Jon Stewart who always had a wonderful knack for tapping into the heart of an issue and explaining it simply so all the world could understand. (We miss you, Jon.)