On paper, the DNA gimmick was a clever idea.

It played off the dubious genetic ancestry tests so in vogue among Warren’s own demographic of upper class suburban lefties looking for exotic leaves in their family trees.

It would decisively answer Trump and show that Warren, a weak and uncharismatic candidate, could take him on.

It was also stupid and ended Warren’s presidential bid before it even began.

The first rule of taking on Trump is, “Better be sure you’re ready for it.”

Having a slick video isn’t ready. Warren hadn’t secured her backfield. Despite releasing a video about her Cherokee ancestry, she hadn’t cleared it with the Cherokee Nation or with Tribal activists. And she didn’t even seem to realize that her bid would be offensive to them.

Despite dealing with the issue for years.

It was a stupid blind spot that cost her big when the Cherokee Nation blasted her.

And then there was the timing.

Warren’s stunt stepped on the media’s Khashoggi push. It also stepped on the last remnants of the Kavanaugh story. And it came too close to the midterms, risking a backlash, all for her own aggrandizement. And that made the media less sympathetic.

And, though Warren had calculated the stunt well before the official election season, the unofficial one is underway.

Booker is working Iowa. And that meant that Warren’s DNA video was seen within the media as a competitive bid with other Democrats, not really an attack on Trump.

And once it imploded, the CNN, NBC and other media coverage turned negative.

Warren’s bid was weak to begin with. Now it’s effectively dead. Her stunt backfired. Trump’s attacks have landed. She made an existing problem worse than it already was. Fewer donors will be willing to invest in her. The rest of the Dem field is celebrating her fall.