I wish someone would challenge Trump. Trump isn't helping lead federal coordination, he is actively encouraging discoordination. Every day we see reports of the federal government telling states...
I wish someone would challenge Trump.
Trump isn't helping lead federal coordination, he is actively encouraging discoordination.
Every day we see reports of the federal government telling states to buy their own PPE & testing supplies, then the federal government basically steals the PPE, gives it politically friendly states or to a distributor who then sells it back to the highest bidder.
It's an op-ed on Joe Biden from the New York Times so read at your own risk. [...] Fair enough. Democrats are far more concerned with something like that than Republicans. This makes a lot more...
It's an op-ed on Joe Biden from the New York Times so read at your own risk.
Rarely has America been in greater need of competent, reassuring leadership. The pandemic has brought out the worst in President Trump, who continues to behave as if he’s presiding over a sick spinoff of “The Apprentice” during sweeps week.
His misinformation briefings are such a disgrace that his advisers have sought to downsize them. His hawking of drugs of unproven efficacy and potential lethality is grossly irresponsible. His call for citizens to “LIBERATE” certain (Democratic-led) states from his own administration’s social-distancing policies was nuts. And just when you thought his performance could not get more erratic, there he was, musing about “cleaning” Covid-19 patients with a shot of disinfectant.
A majority of Americans, polling shows, are unimpressed.
For many Democrats, the remedy is obvious: Former Vice President Joe Biden, the party’s presumptive nominee for president, should be elbowing his way into the conversation. He should be doing more interviews, issuing sharper critiques, proffering better plans — basically presenting himself as a smarter, steadier alternative to Mr. Trump.
[...]
Political challengers must tread carefully. They can offer alternative visions, but they cannot come across as second-guessing the president’s every move from the safety of their rec rooms. If an opponent hits too hard too often, he risks looking as though he’s playing politics while Americans are dying.
Mr. Biden in particular is in an even more delicate spot than some of his former primary rivals. He is not a governor, a member of Congress, a mayor or even a school superintendent. He has a platform but no authority. What he can essentially do is criticize and opine about how things should be done — how he would do things — if only.
Fair enough. Democrats are far more concerned with something like that than Republicans.
Of course, without a frontal assault, he will have a tough time getting attention. The media responds to heat more than light. But that is Mr. Trump’s turf, and those who try to play on it tend to get burned.
Mr. Biden for contrast was and is a discursive gaffe machine well before questions arose about whether age has made him lose a step.
This makes a lot more sense. It's how Trump 2016 became a reality after all.
The campaign could stand to get looser and more creative, upping its social media game in particular. (Close your eyes and picture Joe Biden as a TikTok phenom.) Having essentially secured the nomination, Mr. Biden should move to mine the talent and ideas of former rivals. Now is the time to try out new tricks, while most of the electorate is focused on more pressing matters.
I won't picture that in purgatory but this is a pretty decent point, staying out of the public spotlight allows him and his campaign to experiment and prepare.
I wish someone would challenge Trump.
Trump isn't helping lead federal coordination, he is actively encouraging discoordination.
Every day we see reports of the federal government telling states to buy their own PPE & testing supplies, then the federal government basically steals the PPE, gives it politically friendly states or to a distributor who then sells it back to the highest bidder.
It's an op-ed on Joe Biden from the New York Times so read at your own risk.
[...]
Fair enough. Democrats are far more concerned with something like that than Republicans.
This makes a lot more sense. It's how Trump 2016 became a reality after all.
I won't picture that in purgatory but this is a pretty decent point, staying out of the public spotlight allows him and his campaign to experiment and prepare.