Pandemic Politics: Memorial Day 2020 and the Embarrassment of a Nation

While Memorial Day marks the first unofficial day of summer for much of America, it is also a somber day. It is a day to thank those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Originally, it applied to those in military service and that is still its primary meaning. However, we also remember those who have given their lives for their country and their communities through public service as police, firefighters, and, due to this pandemic, frontline medical professionals. I hope you will take a moment to remember those we have lost and those who gave all they had that we might be free.

This Memorial Day seems different than those in the past for many reasons. First, we are in the midst of a global pandemic, unlike anything any of us have ever experienced. The unofficial data from Johns Hopkins University reports nearly 1,650,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and nearly 98,000 deaths. We will top 100,000 deaths sometime on May 26, 2020 and there is no end in sight. The numbers of new cases are not falling, contrary to the president's claim. We are still reporting 20,000+ new cases every single day. On a positive note, the death rate seems to be declining, possibly due to the lockdown of long-term care facilities and the hesitation of elderly citizens and those with co-morbidity issues to venture into public places. Nevertheless, America leads the world in both the number of cases and the number of deaths. A sad statistic to be number one in, especially since our president promised us he had the virus under control and it was nothing to worry about. Right.

Remember what the president said back in March? It's Memorial Day, don't forget it. Here's a reminder:

March 10: “And it hit the world. And we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”
 
March 11: “I think we’re going to get through it very well.”
 
March 12: “It’s going to go away. ... The United States, because of what I did and what the administration did with China, we have 32 deaths at this point … when you look at the kind of numbers that you’re seeing coming out of other countries, it’s pretty amazing when you think of it.”

The president clearly has a different definition of doing a great job than I do. If I promised my employer that something wouldn't be a problem and 100,000+ people died in just over two months, I wouldn't have my job and I might be held criminally liable. Not this president. In fact, when asked if he felt any responsibility due to his downplaying of the pandemic, he made up another lie and claimed he always thought it was a pandemic, way before anyone else thought it was a pandemic. If so, Mr. President, why did you tell us it was nothing to worry about? That, of course, is the problem with pathological liars. They lie so frequently that they do not even know what they lied about yesterday so why not just make up something new today. And his gullible supporters will excuse and defend him while trying to deflect blame onto the media, the Democrats, the Chinese, the WHO, or whoever else they can. 

Take these retweets from the president this weekend meant to distract from the horrible job he is doing a president:

About Stacy Abrams (African-American candidate for GA governor):

“We just got a look at the official portrait for the self-proclaimed Governor of Georgia. She fought a tough race, kissed a lot of babies, and visited every buffet restaurant in the state. Joe will be a racist if he doesn’t pick her.”


About Nancy Pelosi:

“Anyone know what’s going on with PolyGrip? I’ve noticed lately that her face seems glossy and she is sporting a poorly marked 2nd set of eyebrows,"

In a second tweet attacking Pelosi’s appearance that appeared on Trump’s Twitter feed over the weekend, Stahl took a shot at the Speaker’s teeth, claiming she wore dentures, and wrote that she drank alcohol “on the job.”

About Hillary Clinton:

Another post from Stahl that Trump retweeted referred to Clinton, who ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, as “HRC the Skank.”

This is racist and misogynistic language that should be beneath the President of the United States. Once again, Mr. Trump has disgraced himself, the office of the president, the American people, and our nation. When will someone stand up to this bully and say enough is enough? Why do we tolerate from the president what we would never tolerate from our friends and family members? Any employer would be justified to fire such an individual. It is time for America to fire its president.

I expect more from the President of the United States than a pack of lies each day. I expect more from him than demeaning attacks on those he disagrees with politically. Yes, I know I will be sorely disappointed by expecting anything resembling presidential leadership from this president. I know he will never tell the truth nor will he admit to getting it wrong. He simply cannot accept the fact that he, like the rest of us, is a fallible, sinful human being who does not have all the answers. This is why I vehemently opposed his candidacy in 2015-16 and his election in 2016. This is why, as a lifelong Republican, I am in the Never Trump camp. I long for a president that is willing to work with those with whom he disagrees. Give me Ronald Reagan (tax reform and Social Security reform with a Democratic Congress), give me George H.W. Bush (the Americans with Disabilities Act and deficit reduction w/ a Democratic Congress), give me Bill Clinton (Welfare reform w/ a Republican Congress), give me George W. Bush (education reform, children's health insurance w/ a Democratic Congress), and give me Barack Obama (education reform w/ a Republican Congress). 

I'd love to put Donald Trump on that list but I cannot think of one piece of bipartisan legislation he has promoted or signed (other than the three Coronavirus acts, which any president would have signed). What has President Trump done to reach across the aisle and work with the opposition to accomplish something for Americans? Nothing. Sure, he signed the Republican tax cuts in 2017 that blew up our deficit and gave trillions of dollars back to wealthy supporters while middle-class folks got $6 a week in their paychecks. At least I could afford a second Starbucks white chocolate mocha each week. Thanks, Donald. 

So, on this Memorial Day, think of all we have lost and all you have to be thankful for. Tell those special people in your life that you care about them. Treat strangers with kindness and courtesy. Reach out to those with whom you disagree and be reconciled. They will not be here forever. Use the fierce urgency of now to be a peacemaker, a humble soul, and an all-around better human being. Don't look to the president for guidance because you will not find it there. Look to 'our better angels' as a great president once said. Look at the man in the mirror and make that change. 

Only then will God Bless this great country that so many have fled to as their only hope of light in a darkened world.

Pandemic Politics and the Plight of Immigrants

A friend of mine recently told me that her dad always considered the United States the greatest country on earth. It was the land of the free, the home of the brave, and a place many immigrants longed to come to in search of a better life. For nearly the first 150 years of our existence as a nation, all were welcome. While sailing for the New World back in 1630, John Winthrop said that the eyes of the world would always be upon America and 'that we shall be as a city upon a hill....' Those words were repeated by John F. Kennedy shortly before his inauguration in 1961 and 28 years later by President Ronald Reagan in his farewell address to the nation he loved.


The reference to a 'city on a hill' is biblical and found in Matthew chapter 5:14-16. It reads as follows:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The purpose of this passage is to show the world the good works we do and let them give glory to God because of them. Now is the time for Christians in America and elsewhere to live up to these words and let their light shine before men. Now is the time for America to be that shining city set upon a hill. From the way we respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic to the way we treat the immigrants in our midst, all that we do reflects on our profession of faith and what those who are watching think about our God. 

The Bible has a lot to say about how we are to treat foreigners and immigrants. Here are just a few:

Leviticus 19:33-34
When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

How are we doing in this regard? Are we living up to our responsibilities as a nation? As a church? As individual Christians? The plight of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, has been much in the news lately because many of them have disproportionately borne the brunt of the economic fallout due to the pandemic. As I have mentioned before, many immigrants are employed in low-wage jobs in the hospitality industry, fast-food restaurants, as custodial workers, and on farms and in meat-packing plants. We depend upon them every day to live our lives and any return to normalcy post-pandemic requires those very immigrants to resume doing those jobs. The problem is, they're being chased away, forced to return to places where they risk being beaten, tortured, or murdered. Their applications for political asylum, for Green Cards, for permanent residency, and even for naturalization are on hold. 

This is not unusual for America. We always look for someone to blame whenever things aren't going well for us. The pandemic? Well, that's China's fault. Only it isn't. Unemployment? That's because all those immigrants are stealing our high-wage jobs. Only they're not. Often, they're doing the jobs many Americans refuse to do, like sweating in the hot sun all day building apartments, homes, and businesses with air-conditioning for us to live and work in comfort. Or, picking the fruits and vegetables we put on our dinner tables at night while they go hungry because they are not eligible for state or federal assistance. Or, slaughtering the animals for the steaks, hamburgers, and chicken dishes we enjoy so much, while Covid-19 runs rampant through their factories and budget apartment complexes. 

Perhaps we should listen to what the Bible tells us about how we treat the sojourner in our midst. Perhaps it is time to recognize that immigrants, whether documented or not, are not the enemy. They are our friends, our neighbors, our handyman/gardener, our butchers, our janitors, and our waiters/waitresses. They are us and we are them. It is time we stand together as one America. We are a land of immigrants and unless you are pure native American, you are an immigrant as well. This land is not your land and it is not my land. It is not even our land. It is God's land and we are all just sojourners together. 

I'll leave you with just one more verse of Scripture from a favorite passage of mine:

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Justice, kindness, and humility...how are we doing?

The Coronavirus Pandemic: A New Excuse for Banning Immigration?

A pattern seems to be emerging as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic, one that allows President Trump and his allies on the right to implement much of their agenda without serious objection from the left. In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has rolled back environmental protections, canceled naturalization services for Green Card holders, sped up confirmation hearings for Trump's judicial nominees, blamed China for spreading the Novel Coronavirus, floated more tax cuts for the rich, and, of course, his much talked about executive order banning almost all immigration into the United States. This last one has far more insidious effects than one might believe, even if one agrees that halting immigration from outside the country during the crisis might be a prudent step to prevent infected persons from bringing the disease into areas not currently suffering outbreaks.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) offices are currently closed to the public, which delays or prevents alien residents attempting to obtain permanent resident status from doing so. One reason this has been problematic during the current crisis is that the economic downturn has hurt those who have temporary permits or work visas much more disproportionately than it has 'regular' American citizens. A large portion of legal immigrants works in the hospitality industry, especially where I live in Orlando, FL. The shutdown of the Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Resort, and most area hotels and restaurants has left these individuals scrambling to make ends meet or leave the country. Because they have not been granted their Green Cards or been naturalized, they are not eligible for any assistance from the state or federal government due to losing their jobs.

Of course, another problem for major companies such as Disney and Universal when the time comes to resume operations will be replacing cast members and employees who were forced to go elsewhere to find work so they could support their families. The companies will need to invest heavily in training new hires or retraining workers from other areas before they can resume full operations. For Disney, the immediate impact will be felt in the cultural program for the EPCOT World Showcase countries, bus transportation, and housekeeping. Universal may have the most difficult time filling housekeeping and janitorial positions, though the company may be better suited in the long-term because it is still paying its full-time workers 80% of their pre-furlough wages. Disney's furloughed workers must rely on Florida's broken unemployment system like the hard-working Floridians who were laid off before them. Like many furloughed cast members, my application has been in pending status for three weeks.

The bottom line is that if the Trump Administration really wants to make America great again, it needs to process immigrant applications for Green Cards and refugee/asylum residence. It needs to act now to ensure these workers, who are often performing jobs that many Americans will not or do not want to do (like cleaning up after tourists...you should hear the stories!), will be ready and able to return to their full-time jobs as soon as their employers are able to resume normal operations. The time has come to respect those who have come here legally to obtain a share of the American Dream. As Emma Lazarus wrote:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

They have come, they have worked hard, they have yearned to breathe free. Now it is time for our country to live up to its end of the bargain. The world is watching us and it will not forget what we do next. The choice to live up to our ideals is ours. Or we can simply act as hypocrites and forsake the moral authority to lead the world for generations to come.

Is President Trump Really Losing the 2020 Election? State of the Race May 2020

Away They Go!

The great horse racing caller Trevor Denman started his call of every race with the words 'Away they go' to indicate the horses had broken from the starting gate. As the calendar has changed from April to May, I can almost hear those words as the media here in the United States begins its incessant focus on polls, polls, and more polls. Political scientists refer to this as coverage of the horse race. Who is ahead? Who is behind? What strategy will work best for the leader to hang on to his lead until November 3rd? What should the trailing candidate do to make up the ground between him and the leader?  This kind of journalistic coverage of campaigns is not without consequence, as this report shows. In sum, WHO the press talks about matters as much, if not more, than WHAT the press talks about. 

That very fact is one of the reasons President Trump was so eager to hold nightly 'briefings' on the Coronavirus Pandemic from the White House, even if they were often little more than thinly-veiled campaign rallies meant to let his supporters know that he was a doing a 'great' job, that the administration's efforts to fight the pandemic have been a 'great success', and that the world was amazed by how wonderful our testing capacity is. It matters not whether any of these statements are true or false. What matters is getting them televised and broadcast to his supporters. The 'Bully Pulpit' is a wonderful thing...except when it is not. There is some evidence that the president's inability to focus on the facts and penchant for saying bizarre things, such as injecting disinfectant or light/heat into the body, may be dragging down his poll numbers.  

On the other side of the race is the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice-President Joe Biden. While Biden has been relatively quiet since all but securing the nomination on Super Tuesday way back in the Before Times (March 2020), he has held 'virtual rallies' and delivered speeches from his basement in Delaware. In addition, Biden has faced allegations that he sexually harassed a staffer some 25+ years ago while he was a U.S. Senator. Both his campaign and Mr. Biden have vigorously and repeatedly denied the allegations, most recently in a Morning Joe interview with Mika Brzezinski on May 1, 2020.



Whether he is lying or telling the truth may never be known. The accuser's story seems to change regularly with new details added or 'clarifications' made about what she alleged at the time. Nobody who worked for Biden at the time has recalled anything about her claims. Of course, this does not mean they are untrue. It only means they cannot be validated or verified, just as the claims made by Christine Blasey Ford against (now) Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh could not be validated or verified. Most people will choose to believe what they want to based on their political preferences in cases such as these. The question here is how will these events affect the 'horse race'?

State of the Race-May 2020

As we enter May and (hopefully) the Coronavirus Pandemic begins to wind down, the country will return to some semblance of normality. The campaigns will fire up, the parties will hold their respective conventions, and celebrate their nominees, etc. Eventually, Americans will go to the polls (or mail in their ballots) in November and choose the next President of the United States. Will Donald Trump secure a second four-year term or will Joe Biden be elected as the 46th President of the United States. It is very difficult to predict six months out from election day, especially given the strange circumstances of 2020. The one sure thing is that the media will talk about the ongoing horse race every single day. 

Currently, the polls show Joe Biden with a good lead in many critical states, such as Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. If he wins those three and all states won by Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden will be the next president. In a normal year, Biden would be campaigning heavily in those three states but he may not be able to do so if the pandemic lasts through the summer or returns in early fall. Biden also has a clear lead in most of the national polls conducted over the past few months, which tend to be more or less reflective of the eventual outcome in November (within a few percentage points). The only poll that has Trump tied or in the lead is a Fox News Poll conducted the first weekend of April. 

One caveat must be mentioned regarding the polls at this point. First, it is way too early to assume that voters' attitudes will not shift between now and November. Sure, fierce partisans are set in stone, which means most Republicans will support President Trump and most Democrats will support Joe Biden. The swing voters that gravitated to Trump four years ago may be the key to the election in 2020, which is why paying close attention to quality polling in the key swing states may provide a clue to what will happen in November.

Additionally, the state of the economy will make a huge difference for the president. Americans tend to vote with their wallets or pocketbooks. If they are hurting when it comes time to vote, Trump will be in deep trouble. As of this writing, 30 million Americans have lost their jobs since the beginning of March. While some are beginning to return to work, it will be a slow, drawn-out process to get all those people back to full employment. There is a real possibility that some businesses, especially ones that were just getting by when the closures began, may never reopen. The nation went from a very low rate of unemployment at the end of the longest peacetime recovery in American history (2010-2020) to what could amount to an unemployment rate in excess of 20% in just 60 days. The preliminary data for March reflect a loss of 701,000 jobs during the month. April data will be forthcoming on May 8, 2020. When President Trump took office in January 2017, the unemployment rate was 4.7%. By February of 2020, the rate had fallen to 3.5%. What will the rate be in November? It may not matter as the perception of the economy will be formed during the next few months. President George H.W. Bush learned this the hard way back in 1992. Even though the economy had largely recovered from a minor recession early in the year, he was turned out of office after a single term. 

If President Trump wins re-election in November, it will mark the first time in U.S. History that four successive presidents have been awarded two terms in office. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe each served two terms from 1801-1825. Likewise, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama served two terms from 1993-2017. Are we once again about to witness a one-term presidency?

The Political Science Models

Helmut Norpoth typically puts out his model predicting control of the White House around April 1 of each election year. This year's model (based on polls conducted prior to April 1) predicts President Trump has a 91% chance of re-election. Importantly though, Norpoth included a disclaimer that allows him to revise the model should future polling show a crack in Trump's support. It seems as though he wishes to hedge his bets given the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

The three models that base their projections on current polling each show the Democratic nominee with an advantage. Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball has the Democrats with 248 Electoral Votes to Trump's 233 Electoral Votes, leaving 57 Electoral Votes up for grabs. Charlie Cook's model has the Democrats with 232 votes to Trump's 204 votes, leaving 102 votes up for grabs. Finally, the Inside Elections model has the Democrats leading Trump by 268-204, with 66 votes undecided. 

Finally, Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist with a strong track record of accurately predicting election results, foresees a very close election that will likely hang on two factors. First, whether a recession occurs during the 2nd quarter of 2020, which is very likely given the data mentioned above. Second, it depends on whether voters will blame President Trump or the Coronavirus for the recession, or some combination of the two that attributes Trump's missteps regarding handling the pandemic to exacerbating the economic pain. The latter would result in the worst-case scenario for Trump and could produce a landslide defeat at the hands of Joe Biden. Supposing real GDP in the 2nd quarter declines by 3% (some analysts believe it could drop by 26% or more) and a net Trump approval rating of -10 (approval minus disapproval), Trump would secure only 184 Electoral Votes to Joe Biden's 354. Apart from one recent Gallup Poll in mid-April, Trump's net approval rating has hovered between -5 and -10 percentage points. Either scenario coupled with a disastrous recession could spell doom for the president. Keep in mind, however, that polls are only snapshots in time. They reflect the current mood of voters who are unlikely to be thinking about the election until a pollster asks them to do so. 

That's it for now. We'll be back with an update next month. Until then, stay safe and healthy!

Election 2020: Manufacturing Consent Amid a Global Pandemic

For decades, since at least the early days of the Reagan Administration, conservatives have whined about unfair or biased media coverage by the mainstream media (i.e., broadcast networks such as ABC, CBS, and NBC as well as major newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post). Some have gone so far as to label them the lamestream media (Sarah Palin) and President Trump has referred to cable news channel MSNBC as MSDNC (for Democratic National Committee). Liberals meanwhile have derided Fox news as Faux News or Fake News due to the channel's obvious conservative slant when it comes to commentators such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. The truth is that both sides make valid points about the coverage (or lack thereof) of media outlets but the reason for the bias is lost on them. In 1988, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky published a book about the media titled Manufacturing Consent, which at its core made the claim that media bias is actually more conservative (not ideologically) than most observers think it is.  The reason for this has to do with the profit motive of the corporations that own the media outlets. Filters are installed that protect the ability of the corporate owners to make a profit, not from the provision of news, but by selling consumers to the advertisers in the form of market share or audience demographics. Ever wonder why that program you loved so much got canceled? It did not draw a big enough audience for the advertisers or it drew the wrong kind of audience.

When Herman and Chomsky wrote the book in 1988, 50 media companies owned the majority of news outlets in the United States. Today, the majority of media outlets are owned by just six major corporations. In fact, four companies control 90% of the media market in the United States (Comcast/Universal, Disney, ViacomCBS, and AT&T). What effect does that have on the 'news' the public receives? For starters, most major news outlets begin to sound alike. Those considered left of center (MSNBC, CNN, etc.) feature the same critical coverage of politics and the handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic by the Trump Administration without critically considering how a different administration might have handled it. Those outlets considered right of center (Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and Clear Channel radio broadcasters such as Rush Limbaugh) are seen as apologists for the Trump Administration. Both groups fail to serve the interests of the American people through careful, investigative journalism. Moreover, the American public has drifted more and more apart, tending to congregate in 'echo chambers' that reinforce pre-existing beliefs and rarely challenge their worldviews. Kathleen Jamieson Hall wrote about the existence of a conservative echo chamber comprised of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and The Wall Street Journal in 2010. Similar examples exist on the left between MSNBC, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. The following video commemorating the 30th anniversary of Manufacturing Consent is well worth watching, especially the first five minutes explaining Herman and Chomsky's thesis.



How have things changed in the 32 years since Herman and Chomsky wrote? How has the technological revolution, the advent of the Internet, and the arrival of social media impacted their argument? As Chomsky admits, the effect of social media has been both good and bad. On the one hand, it has broken down the barrier to information erected by the gatekeepers of the old system. On the other, it has enabled the dissemination of disinformation and fake news with relative ease. Russia's meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election could not have occurred apart from social media manipulation, which is all but certain to occur once again in 2020.

It is more necessary than ever to be an astute consumer of information, to question what is presented no matter the source, to seek independent confirmation of information, and to challenge that which confirms our inherent biases. As Fox Mulder said, "Trust No One" and "The Truth is Out There." Our challenge today is to find it and that is no easy task in the (dis)information age.

The Framers Have Left the Building, Er, Country

A little under 234 years ago in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a farmer by the name of Daniel Shays led a rebellion aimed at obtaining relief from high taxes and oppressive debt. It was the first armed uprising in America since the end of the Revolutionary War. Though Shays' rebellion was eventually extinguished, the inability of the federal government to respond with aid for Massachusetts led to the call for a Constitutional Convention to strengthen the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. What happened at that convention in the summer of 1787 changed the nation and the world.

Late in the spring of 1787, delegates from the 13 United States gathered in Philadelphia to discuss, debate, and recommend changes to the Articles. As the convention proceeded, it became clear that the result would be an entirely new government rather than a revision of the Articles. Several delegates left the convention in protest but most remained throughout the long, hot summer. The result of their labor was a new document, the one we refer to as the United States Constitution. On September 17, 1787, the delegates completed their work and 39 of the original 55 delegates signed the Constitution and sent it to the states to be ratified. The government established by the Constitution was a radical departure from that of the Articles of Confederation as a new form of government was established, which is today known as federalism.

James Madison (4th President of the United States) was the key architect of the U.S. Constitution and defended its genius in a series of arguments written for publication in the state of New York under the pseudonym Publius. Madson's arguments were designed to persuade the people of New York, especially those who opposed the expansion of federal power in the Constitution, that the new national government would not be a threat to the sovereignty of the states. Along with his co-authors, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, the trio penned 85 articles defending the design of the Constitution and addressing complaints raised by the anti-federalists, who were led by Brutus. These papers are collectively known as the Federalist Papers.

Madison, in his brilliant manner, argued that the new government would be no threat to the states because of the division of power that allowed each branch to check the power of the others. The legislature (Congress) held the power of the purse and the power to declare war. The executive (president) had the power to veto any act of Congress and controlled the military. This meant that both branches had to reach some degree of consensus before a bill could become law or war could be waged. Congress was also given the power to remove the executive via impeachment for 'high crimes and misdemeanors' or to override a presidential veto by a 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate. The bar was set very high to ensure petty politics would not lead to impeachment proceedings. Unfortunately, the last 20 years has seen not one, but two politically motivated impeachments based on ideological differences between the House of Representatives and the president. That is not to say the events that led to the impeachment were not failures of leadership on the part of those two presidents (they clearly were and the Framers would have reacted with disgust to both of them).

One should not get the idea from any of this that the Framers should be deified or awarded sainthood. They were fallen, sinful men just like our current leaders are today. However, the difference is that they recognized this fault in themselves and attempted to build institutions that could thrive in spite of the failures of men. Where does that leave us today?

One of the biggest concerns of the Framers was the nature, scope, power, and character of the chief executive. They desired both vigor and competence in whoever would serve as President of the United States. Fully eleven of the 85 Federalist Papers were written to exegete the text of the Constitution as it regards the presidency. In particular, Federalist No. 69 pertains to the character of the chief executive. Critics maintained that the new executive would be tantamount to a king. Not so, said Alexander Hamilton, for the president would have to face the people and win their support every four years to continue in office. Further, he could be impeached, removed from office, and prosecuted in a court of law for any wrongdoing. That alone should be enough to keep him honest, Hamilton argued.

Another of the major concerns of the Framers was the method of electing the president. While the Framers believed in popular sovereignty, they feared the power of demagoguery. Thus, an intermediary between the people and the candidates for president must be designed. Hamilton explains the genius of this system, the Electoral College, in Federalist No. 68. In essence, the people of each state vote for a group of Electors, who would supposedly be wise citizens with the ability to discern among the candidates for president and choose the two (each Elector had two votes in the original version of the Electoral College...one had to be for a candidate not residing in their home state) candidates best qualified to hold the office of the presidency. Each state would have a number of Electors equal to the number of seats held in the House of Representatives plus the two senators allotted to the state. The Electors would meet in their respective state capitals and cast their votes, which would be transmitted to the House of Representatives to be counted. The candidate with the most votes would be the next president and the one finishing second would be the vice-president. If no candidate received 50% plus 1 vote, the House of Representatives would choose the president (an event the Framers expected to happen regularly). The Senate would select the vice-president. The elections in 1796 and 1800 led to a reform of the Electoral College by the ratification of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution.

Our concern here is with the desire to protect the new nation from demagogues, or those who would appeal directly to the people by promising 'bread and circuses' to gain their support. In the early days of the republic, candidates did not directly campaign for the office of the presidency. It was thought to be beneath the dignity of a gentleman to campaign for political office. Public service was an honor to be bestowed upon the willing and worthy. It was a way of giving back to one's country. Educated men built up trust through years of dedicated service in the public interest. In fact, the first president, George Washington, was elected unanimously by the Electoral College and had to be persuaded to come out of retirement to serve his country. The men who followed him each had distinguished careers in law or public service or both. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison each served as president during the first 28 years of the nation's history. Adams and Jefferson served as vice-presidents while both Jefferson and Madison served as Secretary of State in addition to numerous other public offices held. The idea that a man with no experience in government could run for the office of president, let alone win it, would have blown their minds, so to speak. The system they designed was supposed to prevent that and ensure that only a competent, well-qualified public servant could be elevated to the most powerful office in the world.

Fast forward 233 years and look at the system the Framers built. The Electoral College no longer consists of wise citizens able to discern among the choices for president and select the most competent individual. It is a wholly partisan body today. Each candidate provides a slate of party loyalists to the state who, if the candidate wins the popular vote in the state, promises to support that candidate when the Electors meet to cast their votes. Having a record of public service is now seen as a disadvantage by many citizens because technology allows candidates and interest groups such as Super PACs to easily engage in disinformation campaigns that distort and demonize their opponents. Candidates no longer have to stand on their records, they have to defend themselves against falsehoods leveled by secretive organizations, all while the third branch created by the Framers, the Supreme Court, nods its head in assent. The Founding Fathers would neither recognize nor condone a system that enables the election of an individual so patently unqualified to be president like Donald Trump. A president who riffs about injecting UV rays or disinfectants into the body to kill the Novel Coronavirus. A president who then denies he said what everybody watching clearly heard him say. A president who revises the historical record whenever it suits him to do so. A man who was more unprepared to be president than any of the 44 men who served before him. A man who blames his own administration's failures on a president who left office a full three years earlier. This is not a man the Framers would have allowed anywhere near the Oval Office. Yet, it happened in 2016. We are all paying the price for it now.

Yes, America, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and the rest of the Founding Fathers have packed their bags and left the country. Perhaps we should consider doing likewise.

Election 2020: Joe Biden v. Donald J. Trump on the Coronavirus, Part I

In the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic, there is actually a presidential election campaign going on.  While most Americans are not paying attention to the campaign yet, and are not likely to until September, both candidates are going on the record about the Coronavirus and what we need to do about it. In this introductory post, I will recap both candidates' statements on the pandemic and leave it to you, dear reader, to determine who has demonstrated competent political leadership. To maintain somewhat of an objective tone, I will present the statements with links to their authors and refrain from adding personal commentary. As much as is possible, I will present the statements in chronological order beginning in January of this year.

January 2020

President Trump's Statements:

January 22: President Trump is asked whether he has any concern about a pandemic after the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was identified in Washington State. His response:

• "No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s — going to be just fine."

January 24: The president tweeted:

• China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!

January 30: President Trump banned most travel to the United States from China. At his campaign rally that night he said:

• In fact, maybe, we've never had a better relationship and we're working with them very closely on the coronavirus. We're working with them very, very closely. We only have five people, hopefully, everything's going to be great. They have somewhat of a problem, but hopefully, it's all going to be great. But we're working with China, just so you know, and other countries very, very closely.

Former Vice-President Biden's Statements

January 27:

• [President Trump is] "the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health challenge... The outbreak of a new coronavirus, which has already infected more than 2,700 people and killed over 80 in China, will get worse before it gets better. Cases have been confirmed in a dozen countries, with at least five in the United States. There will likely be more." 
  
  Source: Joe Biden, "Trump Is Worst Possible Leader to Deal with Coronavirus Outbreak," usatoday.com, Jan. 27, 2020

January 31:

• "We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus. This is no time for Donald Trump's record of hysteria and xenophobia - hysterical xenophobia - and fearmongering to lead the way instead of science." 
  
  Source: Trevor Hunnicutt, "Biden Slams Trump for Cutting Health Programs before Coronavirus Outbreak," reuters.com, Jan. 31, 2020

February 2020

President Trump:

February 4:

• "Protecting Americans' health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat." 
  
  Source: Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump in State of the Union Address," whitehouse.gov, Feb. 4, 2020

February 10:

• In an interview with Fox Business News, the president said:
• President Trump: "Well, I think China is very, you know, professionally run in the sense that they have everything under control. I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon. You know in April, supposedly, it dies with the hotter weather. And that's a beautiful date to look forward to. But China I can tell you is working very hard. We're working with them. You know, we just sent some of our best people over there, World Health Organization and a lot of them are composed of our people. They're fantastic. And they're now in China, and we're helping them out. We're in very good shape. We have 11 cases and most of them are getting better very rapidly. I think they'll all be better." 

February 24:

• President Trump tweeted:
• "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!" 
  
  Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 24, 2020

February 25:

• President Trump tweeted:
• "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world... So far, by the way, we have not had one death. Let's keep it that way!

February 26:

• The president held a press conference at which he said:
• Press conference:
  
  Asked about previously proposed budget cuts to CDC, NIH, and WHO:
  
  "Some of the people we cut, they haven't been used for many, many years. And if — if we have a need, we can get them very quickly."
  
  On whether Americans can make summer travel plans:
  
  "[W]hen you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done."
  
  On the nature of coronavirus:
  
  "It’s a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner… This is a flu. This is like a flu."
  
  On whether there is enough testing:
  
  "[W]e're testing everybody that we need to test. And we're finding very little problem." 
  
  Source: White House, "Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Conference" whitehouse.gov, Feb. 27, 2020

February 27:

• Meeting with African American Leaders:
  
  "It's going to disappear. One day — it's like a miracle — it will disappear." 
  
  Source: Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with African American Leaders," whitehouse.gov, Feb. 28, 2020

February 28:

• Rally in South Carolina:
  
  "The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. You know that, right?...
  
  They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation and this is their new hoax." 
  
  Source: Lauren Egan, "Trump Calls Coronavirus Democrats' 'New Hoax,'" thehill.com, Feb. 28, 2020

Joe Biden's Statements:

The former vice-president remained largely silent during February while the Coronavirus crisis was unfolding. Yet, what he did say was pointedly political and aimed at the president's handling of the situation. 

February 1:

• First identified tweet about coronavirus by Joe Biden:
  
  "We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump's record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency." 
  
  Source: Joe Biden, Twitter.com, Feb. 1, 2020

February 28:

• CNN Interview:
  
  "No one takes the president's word for these things. He, at a minimum, exaggerates everything. And the idea that he's going to stand there and say, ‘everything is fine, don't worry,' who's going to believe that? Let the experts speak like we did in our administration." 
  
  Source: Marina Pitofsky, "Biden Says 'No One' Takes Trump's Word on Coronavirus," thehill.com, Feb. 28, 2020