The political bombshell lobbing by both parties has amounted to some entertaining daily copy for TV newscasts, the Internet and newspaper editorials. Less entertained have been the American people who, like many around the world, have begun to see our freewheeling process as what one writer called this our “quadrennial political embarrassment.”

It will take some considerable effort for the Republicans especially to tailor a campaign pattern that somehow knits together the widely diversified rhetoric of the (so far) 14 competitors for their party nomination that has somehow to come into focus in very short order. The partisan artillery that should have been aimed at Hillary Clinton in some more organized fashion by now seems to have GOP competitors defining the negatives of each other no matter who their candidate turns out to be.

Assuming American voters are willing to accept the idea of a third member of the Bush family for White House consideration, when the three have been in office so close to each other, the Democrats merely have to spend most of their time doing some Jon Stewart comic jousting to play up the divisions among the Republican candidates. If they can do this competently and comically, it will cast the mini-army of candidates looking more like cartoon competitors.

Given that the most potent, if not the only weapon put forth by Republicans has been the Benghazi event and the personal computer use by Hillary, it will be no surprise if some clever young Democratic researcher opens up the fact of the 83 US Marines sent to their deaths in Lebanon in 1983 by the late Ronald Reagan who ignored strong warnings against the decision. Not only were the Marines unarmed, the security surrounding their barracks was minimal. But what could raise still further problems for the intense Republican Congressional probers is the reality there was virtually no assault on President Reagan in the aftermath as there has been against former Secretary of State Clinton.

There used to be times when the two major parties could present competing conservative and liberal agendas for voters to wrestle with and judge. Except for some confusing political but hardly definitive response to recent Supreme Court decisions on the Affordable Care Act and same sex marriages, it is difficult to define a “conservative” agenda, especially with New Jersey Governor Christie screaming the problem is both parties and not just the usual Democratic target.

In other words, the divisive rhetoric of the Republican contenders themselves have fed a lot of potential fun stuff to clever Clinton gag writers and speech writers to use.

But, then, what about the ultra left Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders who also poses as a Democrat but could be happy with the socialist label?

Logic suggests he will gain a lot of entertaining interview opportunities when he will be quizzed in ways to put the knock on Clinton, but it is doubtful he could pick up the kind of financial support only recently revealed by the Hillary team. Also arguing against Sanders is his less than consistent combat against defense industries and stuff related to wars. He has made many speeches but almost never introduced any kind of proposals to back them up.

The one candidate who seems a fool is hardly that: Donald Trump. Despite what he would call “candor” and others would label as garbage talk, the comic hairdo has climbed to second place among Republicans polled behind Jeb Bush. Despite his actions and less than attractive oratory, the Trump name has captured media attention and the acceptance of certain voter groups who may not want to boast openly of their support.

What is also missing from the run-up to the Republican convention is any real involvement of the party’s elder people, male and female, who might lend an air of legitimacy to an otherwise confusing array of mutual gibberish.

So, as time narrows to the conventions themselves and the debates before and after, it will seem logical for the Clintonites to stay the course, let their writers dig up the useful dirt and avoid confrontational stuff to dissect each of the already confusing GOP campaign. The Republicans will have their task to keep Jeb from getting off the straight and narrow and avoid another Sara Palin VP candidate.

When all of this is over and President Obama continues to grab most of the headlines for good or ill, whoever wins and is elected will have a steep hill to climb in returning the nation to the domestic and international standing we once enjoyed and desperately must reclaim.