Quote:
Originally Posted by Adder
There are parts of this country - like the Dakotas - that had a reasonable shot at avoiding this thing altogether had it not immediately become politicized.
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The huge mistake made by the prior administration wasn't about policy. It was turning the government pandemic response into a front in the culture war. It was Trump's mistake, a function of his own schizophrenia about whether he wanted to run the government or foster grievances about it. Because he couldn't really control himself, he did both at different times. Whatever you think of the administration's policy, it was undoubtedly undercut by conservatives who railed against masks, virtue-signaled by superspreading, questioned the science, etc. If Trump had been able to resist his own impulses, maybe he could have gotten re-elected. He certainly cost lives, killed jobs and wasted money.
Was the virus ever going to be "contained"? That's the wrong question. It's like not studying for the bar exam, failing it, and then saying, well, was I ever going to get a perfect score?
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