This thread is emblematic of how dysfunctional politics has become. Sure, politics has always been politics, but we’re in an age essentially void of anything beyond partisanship. Some would view it to be unethical, intolerable to agree with someone from a different poltical party. Negotiation — an essential aspect of political success — is gone. No one party is ever going to get everything they want, therefore any form of progress would require compromise. Not gonna happen.
It used to be that some members of Congress, regardless of party, would socialize with each other. I haven’t heard about any such activity in ages. I suspect if a Democrat and a Republican were spotted enjoying lunch together, they would both be shunned.
I may very well be wrong, but I doubt anything so political took place during the Spanish Flu. I can’t imagine a pandemic having been weaponized to such a degree in 1918. We’ve regressed, if anything. Instead of cooperation, we’re currently engaged in political trench warfare.
I also think that if any other President were currently in the White House, this would have been handled differently. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama — none of them would have allowed their egos to have played a pivotal role. None of them would have interfered so dramatically with the advice of doctors and researchers who specialize in viruses and pandemics. All of them would have realized the most important part of being President is knowing when to defer to others. Citizens don’t expect their leaders to be medical experts; they expect them to consult experts. None of them would have been consumed with an endless stream of childish name calling, punishing states whose governors haven’t kissed his ring.
I would ask all Trump supporters to stand in front of a mirror, and say out loud: “Any other President would have discussed injecting disinfectants to cure a coronavirus.”
So much for the “big brain” from the “stable genius” who claims “I’m, like, a smart person.” Here’s a hint: anyone who’s genuinely a genius doesn’t need to say so. Only insecure people who know deep down they’re far from being an actual genius would say such thing.
We’re dealing with a failed businessman/reality TV star, who only ran for President for the publicity, in an attempt to get his TV show renewed. It’s almost beyond words: the most successfully unsuccessful publicity stunt of all time? And we have ample evidence that he sees everything in terms of television. I’d love to see a count of how many times he has referred to ratings, whether for himself or others. What other world leader has ever spoken about their TV ratings with such frequency? Imagine the outrage if Obama or George W. had done this.
I thought we had reached the bottom of the possibilities of Presidential incompetence with George W., but Trump has taken things to a previously unimaginable level. I’m at the point of wanting a President Pence, FFS!
nypost.com
abc7chicago.com
www.cdc.gov
