Well, here it is. The presidential election season (such as it is) has begun after a summer full of virtual conventions, clashes in the street. possible mail-in voter fraud and arguments over wearing masks and how to open school as the COVID-19 pandemic is on its way to killing almost 200,000 Americans in just a few months.
President Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, may not have helped start the outbreak. But he's certainly responsible for his mismanagement of it, having said as much on tape about downplaying the seriousness as prime fodder for Bob Woodward's new book. Trump faces former Democratic vice president Joe Biden, who made headlines for making Kamala Harris his running mate. The current Senator from California, who would be the first of Asian and Jamaican descent to serve in the office if they win, ran against Biden in the primaries.
The President promises to "keep America great" as cities burn, businesses shut down, millions lose their jobs due to COVID, and there's a trade war with China. Biden wants to "build back better", as if he's a Detroit auto executive trying to sell his fading lineup of cars. He also wants to do a better job of handling the virus by mandating masks and relying on scientists and doctors instead of promoting questionable miracle cures and "wishing" the virus away. But mainly what Biden, Harris and the Democrats have to sell is that they're not Trump, and that may be enough for them to win in November.
Nearly two decades have passed since the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, and America's national security is in danger of being compromised--if it isn't already. Trump's disdain for climate change and for the "suckers" and "losers" who populated the military he commands past and present are matched only by his unyielding friendship and support of the authoritarian dictators he wants to emulate, if the Constitution would only let him.
We know that race relations is not Trump's strong suit, having long ago sided with white nationalists in his quest for "law and order" instead of immigrants and African-Americans, for whom he has often whined about how much he has done for them than any other President. Now, to go along with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Blacks who have been victims of overzealous police, we add Jacob Blake Jr. He was shot in the back seven times by Kenosha, WI police for trying to escape capture on a charge of domestic abuse. Protests on the streets of Kenosha led to a 17-year old white teenage boy accused of shooting two men to death, earning the tacit approval of the President. Which is not much different than sending armed militias into the streets of Portland and Washington,D.C. because of real or perceived threats by extremists right and left, making things worse.
This is Trump's race to lose, and he's losing it. Most of the major polls in the battleground states show him trailing Biden, as well as in fundraising for the million or so campaign ads you'll be seeing until November 3. But Trump is scaring the heck out of those who want to avoid the polls and mail in their votes instead due to the virus by slowing down the U.S. Postal Service, which is now run by one of his campaign contributors. Which means we may not know who won on Election Night, with the voters risking illness to cast their ballots and the tidal wave of mail order ballots to be counted. And even then, we won't know if Trump will go away peacefully if he loses.
We're still waiting for the "October Surprise". If it isn't Trump disparaging the troops, downplaying the virus or promising a vaccine by November, then what is it? Do we really want to know?
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