Montini: Arpaio with Trump in Iowa. My dream lives!

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is traveling to Iowa to endorse Donald Trump.

In other words -- my dream is still alive!

Way back when Trump first declared his candidacy I said that the Sheriff and The Donald were a match made in heaven.

(Or hell.)

I said that, politically, I would be a dream match-up.

(Or a nightmare.)

It all depends upon your political persuasion, or perhaps the state of your mental health.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Arpaio.

It would be a disaster for the nation, perhaps for the entire world, but it is also the sweet forbidden dream of every reporter, columnist and blogger who daily slogs through the muck and mire of actual news.

This has been true ever since Trump made his first speech, one in which he appeard to have memorized the sheriff's playbook, bursting into the kind of foolishly offensive and inaccurate immigrant rants that Arpaio has used, successfully, again and again, to get elected.

Arpaio introduced Trump at an appearance in the Valley. Now he's headed to Iowa, where news reports (and statements by the politicians) say he'll officially endorse him.

"I have great respect for Sheriff Arpaio,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “We must restore law and order and respect the men and women of our police forces. I thank him for his support of my policies and candidacy for president.”

In a statement released by the campaign, Mr. Arapaio said: “Donald Trump is a leader. He produces results and is ready to get tough in order to protect American jobs and families. I have fought on the front lines to prevent illegal immigration. and I know Donald Trump will stand with me and countless Americans to secure our border. I am proud to support him as the best candidate for president of the United States of America.”

There is no way to decipher exactly why the sheriff is doing this. Perhaps he actually believes in Trump. Perhaps he wants something in return. Say, a future presidential pardon.

The important thing is that, for now, the sheriff has left the state. And the question that those of us who live in Arizona should be asking ourselves is not: "Why is Arpaio in Iowa?" but...

"How can we keep him there?"