Donald Trump makes his problems disappear. But this
virus is unlike any problem he has ever faced. He can’t lie his way out of it
because it is too out in the open. He can’t tie it up in the courts, or have
Bill Barr investigate it, or Lindsey Graham defend it, or Mitch McConnell kill
it.
They (Jared and Miller) sent the president out to
reassure us that the demon virus was under control. They gave him the script. I
am sure they begged him to stick to it. To truly succeed, he would have needed
to be astonishingly presidential.
He would have needed to be frank about his failure
to act quickly. He would have needed to demonstrate his grasp of the crisis and
his ability to stem it. And, he would have needed to summon (or at least fake)
that thing called empathy.
Instead, he did it his way, unloading lies and
propaganda to cover-up his epic failure, and to try to spin it into a huge success,
but this time, no one was buying it. The more they send him back out and the more
he speaks, the more he exposes his ineptitude. He never bothered to learn the
basics of being president, because, in his mind, when it came to making big
decisions −huge, perfect, wonderful, beautiful decisions−
he could always trust his gut.
But, not this time.
He botched the response to the virus and his precious
stock market turned on him. How disloyal! How ungrateful! He was sure he could
lead it by the nose and make it dance to his tune, but as he continues to trip
over his own feet, investors keep running for the hills.
And this
virus is not finished with him yet.
Nor is this virus finished with us. We watch helplessly as the disease curve climbs, the death toll rises, the disruption factor soars, and
the economy nose dives.
Trump voters wanted an outsider to come to
Washington and shake up the system, and they got it beyond their wildest
dreams. Gone are the experts. They were just establishment elites. Out are
many career civil servants. They were deep state, never-Trumpers. Removed
are many “unnecessary” safeguards and regulations, instituted by Obama. Those
were bad for business.
So, here we are, practicing social isolation for the
greater good, and more likely than not, looking to our state houses for the
leadership that once upon a time came from our White House.
The terrifying Trump-Republican joyride will end in
November. That was already a near certainty.
Way back in June, the Trump campaign’s internal
pollsters told him that he would lose to Biden in the battleground states of
Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin – the states where he beat Hillary by the
thinnest of margins.
And to make it worse, those poll results were leaked
to the press. Trump then did what Trump does. First, he denied that the poll
results existed, then he called them fake polls, then he said he never trusted
polls anyway. And then of course, he fired several of the pollsters.
Hillary lost when black urban voters and suburban,
college educated women turned out in less than Obama numbers, while Obama’s blue-collar
voters opted for Trump. The 2018 midterm elections and the Democratic primaries
have signaled that the defectors of the Obama coalition have regained their
senses.
To that coalition, we can start welcoming those
401K-Chamber of Commerce-Country Club Republicans who are now unhappily watching
their wealth slip away. We can say what we want about their motives, but
they know lousy management when they see it.
Indirectly addressing that lousy management, Joe
Biden said this:
“No president can promise to prevent future
outbreaks, but I can promise you this: When I’m president, we will be better
prepared, respond better, and recover better. We’ll lead with science and listen
to the experts. And I will always, always tell you the truth.”
He didn’t promise miracles, just honesty and
competency. And right now, honesty and competency sound pretty darn good.
Following his unexpected landslide victory in the
South Carolina primary that lifted his candidacy from the grave, Biden
gratefully thanked the man who made it happen, Jim Clyburn “for lifting me and
this campaign on his shoulders.”
How about that! Gratitude and humility might come
back in style.
Entering the all-important Super Tuesday primaries with
the personal heartfelt endorsements by Pete, Amy, and Beto, instead of spiking
the football, he said this: "Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as
anything else. There's an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me.
They are the future of this country."
Yes! Our next president understands his purpose and the
unique role that history and the voters have given him. Job #1 is to stop the
joyride and take away the car keys.
Last night Joe took one giant leap forward by promising
that his running mate will be a woman. We don’t yet know the identity of our very
first Madam Vice-President, but I think we can be confident that she will
embody the values demonstrated by President Joe.
Life is about to get harder, and even as it does, we
will find reasons for optimism − not unfounded, wishful
thinking, but based on solid evidence. We will see that evidence only if we
keep our eyes open and refuse to be blinded by the fear of a small desperate
man, clinging to his own alternative reality.
Let Joe Biden’s resiliency in both his personal life
and political life serve as a reminder of who we are as a country.
Comedian George Carlin sometimes ended his on-stage
routine by waving goodbye to the audience and saying: “Take care of yourself.
And take care of someone else too.”
So, in the coming weeks and months, do what George
would tell you to do. It’s who we are.
Bruce Coltin
Surviving Trump Two Minutes at a Time
