As I sip my fresh pot of DD coffee this morning, I am thinking about the 2020 election and what we are likely going to see as we go forward.
By now we have heard the famous Napoleon quote that says, "Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Were Joe Biden and I to sip a few brews together, appropriately distanced, of course, I would remind him of this strategy. It seems that the larger the distance between himself and Cheeto, the more desperate Cheeto becomes to regain some modicum of momentum in the campaign. His desperation, IMHO, seems to lead back to Napoleon's dictum of letting Cheeto make more mistakes since what he is doing, although likely to solidify his base, will not make significant inroads into the 65% of or so of the voters who are not counted as his 'base.'
His daily Coronavirus briefings, two so far, although providing air-time for Trump seem to have little to no impact on our perception of his management, or mismanagement, of the pandemic. The obvious absence of any medical experts says it all. Why include experts who can shed light on where we need to be medically when that is not the goal of the briefing. The goal is clearly to feed Cheeto's ego, and facts are a convenient casualty. Even a fervent FOX viewer can probably discern the fallacy of his comments about how effective we have been managing the virus compared to the rest of the world...not. So, Joe, just let him have his 30 minutes of the Howdy Doody show every day. Maybe he can bring-in Buffalo Bob Smith and Princess Summer Fall Winter Spring to spice it up.
The other strategy of characterizing our cities as being 'out of control' under Democratic leadership, thus needing an infusion from his para-military force, is building a huge amount of apprehension (and resentment) on the part of those of us who still believe our constitution is the guiding principle of this country. We all have to be nervous about sending in armed federal agents where the local officials have not requested or welcomed their intrusion. This is frightening on two levels. First, the citizens of these cities are exercising their first amendment rights to protest - in a non-violent way. Secondly, the guise of "protecting federal property" should never extend to apprehension and interrogation (and gassing) of local citizens from the streets. I am reminded that the Chairman of the JCS essentially told Cheeto not to use the military in our streets, so Cheeto deputized a para military force from other agencies like the Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration, and DHS. That should help you sleep. This strategy to further fracture our society and create discord is bound to fail, and I think Joe knows that.
I am worried, like many of my friends, about how desperate people will do desperate things as the campaign moves forward, especially if Cheeto continues to fall further behind. What I think the opposition has to avoid is a "tit for tat" approach, but merely let Cheeto hoist himself on his own petard.
On that unsolicited note, I am continuing my morning coffee ritual, maybe with an accompanying bagel.