Coronavirus impressions

Topic 1 - The Fumble and Halftime adjustment: The mother of all fumbles has happened.  South Korea and the US reported their first case on the same day - Jan 20th 2020.  Two months later, America has 120K cases and Korea has 9K.  I dont think the President intended this when cheerleading America First.  After this fumble, the administration is now making halftime adjustments and doing better.  But outlook is still not great (see Topics 2 and 3).

Topic 2 - Wishful thinking: I do not think Trump supporters voted for him because of his perceived competence.  His wishful thinking on coronavirus makes sense if we think of him as a booster of America and American Economy.  He seemed to be wishing the virus away to protect his cherished economic engine.  Even assuming that his supporters give him slack, I am quite surprised by their apparent preference to die rather than change their mind about him.  This is not a good sign for democrats.  There is a long standing quandary about why people would vote against their economic interests.  Looks like people will vote against their physical well being as well.  If your political persuasion rebels against this notion, then consider that the one true source of truth says the election is still a tossup in spite of the economy headed into recession.

Topic 3 - Insecurity: It seems that the most important job Governors should be doing in the middle of the pandemic is to be appreciative of the president.  One thing all the Hollywood movies about pandemics missed is that personal grudges will take center stage because of a narcissistic and thin skinned President.  I wish he would settle down and do an honest day's work - like this guy here.  The resources available in the US to fight this relative to what is available in India is not comparable, but leadership matters.  At this time, I am not holding out hope for much.


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