This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/coronavirus-hits-the-campaign-trail/2020/02/28/9c8b277e-5a5a-11ea-9000-f3cffee23036_story.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_homepage
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Coronavirus hits the campaign trail | Coronavirus hits the campaign trail |
| (2 months later) | |
| CHARLESTON, S.C. — Politics can turn on a cough or a sneeze. | CHARLESTON, S.C. — Politics can turn on a cough or a sneeze. |
| One day, we’re asking ourselves which presidential candidate we’d rather drink a beer with or, these days, which Democrat can defeat Donald Trump? | One day, we’re asking ourselves which presidential candidate we’d rather drink a beer with or, these days, which Democrat can defeat Donald Trump? |
| The next, we’re wondering whether we’ll live to see Election Day. | The next, we’re wondering whether we’ll live to see Election Day. |
| A friend of mine chooses her candidate by asking herself: Which of these people can I picture sitting across from Vladimir Putin? In other words, who’s tough, savvy, experienced and knowledgeable enough to negotiate successfully with a former KGB agent? | A friend of mine chooses her candidate by asking herself: Which of these people can I picture sitting across from Vladimir Putin? In other words, who’s tough, savvy, experienced and knowledgeable enough to negotiate successfully with a former KGB agent? |
| As of this week, with the coronavirus picking up speed and global markets dipping in response, voters may need to ask a different set of questions in their calculations. Who would they trust to manage a pandemic? | As of this week, with the coronavirus picking up speed and global markets dipping in response, voters may need to ask a different set of questions in their calculations. Who would they trust to manage a pandemic? |
| We’re not panicking yet, but increased media coverage and the White House’s delay in anticipating and organizing preemptive measures could bring us closer to a real sense of danger and fear. Adding to concerns is this: A handful of people on the West Coast have caught the virus who have neither traveled to a place where it is already spreading nor had contact with someone already diagnosed with the illness, and Saturday brought word of the first U.S. death in the outbreak. | We’re not panicking yet, but increased media coverage and the White House’s delay in anticipating and organizing preemptive measures could bring us closer to a real sense of danger and fear. Adding to concerns is this: A handful of people on the West Coast have caught the virus who have neither traveled to a place where it is already spreading nor had contact with someone already diagnosed with the illness, and Saturday brought word of the first U.S. death in the outbreak. |
| Additionally, a whistleblower has charged that Health and Human Services staffers were “improperly deployed” to greet Americans being repatriated after traveling in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. In her complaint, the whistleblower alleged that “appropriate steps were not taken to quarantine, monitor, or test [the workers] during their deployment and upon their return home.” | Additionally, a whistleblower has charged that Health and Human Services staffers were “improperly deployed” to greet Americans being repatriated after traveling in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. In her complaint, the whistleblower alleged that “appropriate steps were not taken to quarantine, monitor, or test [the workers] during their deployment and upon their return home.” |
| Meanwhile, President Trump’s designation of Vice President Pence as his coronavirus “czar” has created an uproar both because of Pence’s presumed lack of qualifications and because he has ordered that all virus-related information will be filtered through his office. While this may sound extreme, there’s some logic in trying to ensure that all information is consistent and accurate. | Meanwhile, President Trump’s designation of Vice President Pence as his coronavirus “czar” has created an uproar both because of Pence’s presumed lack of qualifications and because he has ordered that all virus-related information will be filtered through his office. While this may sound extreme, there’s some logic in trying to ensure that all information is consistent and accurate. |
| This isn’t to say that Pence is the best person for the job, plainly. But the White House may be the least relevant component of our present defenses against this bug. Far more important are the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where scientists are working overtime to develop more -effective tests and a vaccine. Clinical trials are underway on a vaccine, but we’re a year away from an inoculation for the general public, according to Francis Collins, head of NIH. | This isn’t to say that Pence is the best person for the job, plainly. But the White House may be the least relevant component of our present defenses against this bug. Far more important are the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where scientists are working overtime to develop more -effective tests and a vaccine. Clinical trials are underway on a vaccine, but we’re a year away from an inoculation for the general public, according to Francis Collins, head of NIH. |
| In an “Influencers” interview with Yahoo Finance editor in chief Andy Serwer in early February, Collins said that both the CDC and NIH are in communication with each other, as well as with the White House — several times a day. Also, he said, scientists from both agencies know each other well and work together with a long-standing agility. | In an “Influencers” interview with Yahoo Finance editor in chief Andy Serwer in early February, Collins said that both the CDC and NIH are in communication with each other, as well as with the White House — several times a day. Also, he said, scientists from both agencies know each other well and work together with a long-standing agility. |
| Needless to say, Trump, by his belated attention to the virus, has handed his Democratic opponents an epic issue. Some candidates have wasted no time. Joe Biden wants to send our scientists to China. Volunteers? Elizabeth Warren wants to redirect funding from Trump’s “racist” border wall and use it to combat the virus. (The NIH already has a $41.46 billion budget for 2020, a 6 percent increase from last year.) | Needless to say, Trump, by his belated attention to the virus, has handed his Democratic opponents an epic issue. Some candidates have wasted no time. Joe Biden wants to send our scientists to China. Volunteers? Elizabeth Warren wants to redirect funding from Trump’s “racist” border wall and use it to combat the virus. (The NIH already has a $41.46 billion budget for 2020, a 6 percent increase from last year.) |
| Mike Bloomberg, hailing his crisis management and health experience as New York’s post-9/11 mayor, has hammered Trump at every campaign stop in advance of Super Tuesday. Say what you will about Bloomberg’s lack of charisma, but his skills do seem well-suited to the moment, while Bernie Sanders sounds tethered to a bygone era of ’60s radicalism and revolution. | Mike Bloomberg, hailing his crisis management and health experience as New York’s post-9/11 mayor, has hammered Trump at every campaign stop in advance of Super Tuesday. Say what you will about Bloomberg’s lack of charisma, but his skills do seem well-suited to the moment, while Bernie Sanders sounds tethered to a bygone era of ’60s radicalism and revolution. |
| Already, Bloomberg’s campaign has released an emergency preparedness plan, and has placed virus-related ads in all 50 states. Talk about organization. | Already, Bloomberg’s campaign has released an emergency preparedness plan, and has placed virus-related ads in all 50 states. Talk about organization. |
| Likewise, Warren, who can’t have left anyone wondering whether she can “get it done,” seems to have a plan for everything. It’s easy to forget amid the mudslinging and noise that Warren, while a Harvard law professor, proposed and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. | Likewise, Warren, who can’t have left anyone wondering whether she can “get it done,” seems to have a plan for everything. It’s easy to forget amid the mudslinging and noise that Warren, while a Harvard law professor, proposed and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. |
| Every crisis changes priorities and perspectives. Suddenly, the soothing tones and clear thinking of a Pete Buttigieg seem less important than proven experience managing big problems on a large scale. Much can happen between now and November, obviously. But if Americans start getting sick in large numbers, or worse, there will be little affection for an administration that wasn’t prepared. | Every crisis changes priorities and perspectives. Suddenly, the soothing tones and clear thinking of a Pete Buttigieg seem less important than proven experience managing big problems on a large scale. Much can happen between now and November, obviously. But if Americans start getting sick in large numbers, or worse, there will be little affection for an administration that wasn’t prepared. |
| Read more from Kathleen Parker’s archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook. | Read more from Kathleen Parker’s archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| Megan McArdle: Pick the candidate you think could handle a crisis | Megan McArdle: Pick the candidate you think could handle a crisis |
| Molly Roberts: Why Trump can’t console us about the coronavirus | Molly Roberts: Why Trump can’t console us about the coronavirus |
| Greg Sargent: New coronavirus revelations make Trump’s ‘deep state’ rage look worse | Greg Sargent: New coronavirus revelations make Trump’s ‘deep state’ rage look worse |
| Catherine Rampell: Why should we believe him now? | Catherine Rampell: Why should we believe him now? |
| Max Boot: Coronavirus lays bare all the pathologies of the Trump administration | Max Boot: Coronavirus lays bare all the pathologies of the Trump administration |
| The Post’s View: The Trump administration’s mixed messages are sowing coronavirus confusion | The Post’s View: The Trump administration’s mixed messages are sowing coronavirus confusion |
| David Ignatius: How Trump can avoid being his own worst enemy on coronavirus | David Ignatius: How Trump can avoid being his own worst enemy on coronavirus |