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Have the president's promises matched reality? @timkmak reports an NPR team checked promises the president made March 13, when declaring a state of emergency. With lives in the balance, many promises were not kept. Details follow. @NPR
On March 13, says @timkmak, the president promised "drive-through tests" at stores. "Walmart has opened two testing sites. Walgreens has opened two in Chicago; CVS has opened four sites. Target has not opened any." Eight sites. Companies say they await government leadership. @NPR
More from @timkmak: "The president and his team promised Google was working on a website that would integrate screening, facilitate a nearby drive-through testing location, and then send you back your results -- all in one.... That never happened."
In promising the website that never materialized, the president took an apparent shot at an Obamacare website that was delayed years ago: "It’s going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past." With lives and the economy at stake, the site isn't done. @UpFirst @NPR
Other presidential promises required collaboration with states - for example, loosening requirements for licensing doctors. The president hasn't secured that cooperation. He said he would buy oil to prop up the market, but didn't get the money from Congress. @NPR @MorningEdition
A president's power is limited. In an earlier crisis, Truman claimed he had "the power to keep the country from going to hell." The Supreme Court found he didn't. Much presidential leadership rests not on law but moral leadership, persuasion, trust. Squandering that costs a lot.
Here’s the full write-up from an @NPR investigation. npr.org/2020/04/13/832…
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Steve Inskeep
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Vital detail about the estimated 200,000 deaths: @aizenglobe tells @rachelNPR "the model assumes" states not restricting movement will do so, and all states will continue until June 1. "If states don't do all of that, the death toll would be projected to be even higher." @NPR
Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday there is a chance to hold down the death toll by vigorously following social distancing. @aizenglobe's interview with a co-creator of the White House model shows the reverse is also true: less social distancing means more deaths. @MorningEdition
Social distancing demands subtle thinking. People who try to follow rules may still get sick; it's hard to be perfect. You can also make a mistake and probably won't get sick; no need to panic. But collective action, or inaction, makes a vast difference in lives lost nationwide.
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Steve Inskeep
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Picked up a takeout dinner from a DC restaurant where I’d eaten before. All the chairs were up on the tables and some of the lights were out. Door was propped open so I needn’t touch the handle. It was held open by a dispenser of hand sanitizer.
I used sanitizer, and a wipe, after paying. The manager served me and then gave me a complimentary bottle of wine. “Thanks for your support,” he said. He said they weren’t making any money, but he persuaded the owner to stay open for takeout to keep a few people employed.
I’d have to assume that whatever small risk I ran by going there (not much more than otherwise; one must get food somewhere), the risk for the employees must be larger.
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Steve Inskeep
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Appalling story by @timkmak: three weeks ago, a key senator told paying insiders the truth about coronavirus. In public, the senator gave no similar warning. The president downplayed the threat, and others stuck to Fox propaganda. @MorningEdition @NPR
npr.org/2020/03/19/818…
To cite a source on “Fox propaganda,” here is a good collection of what Fox personalities were saying long after government insiders knew the truth.
We don’t know that the Fox personalities knew the truth at the time they made their false claims. We do know, however, that the partisan propaganda channel has tight connections with leading Republicans, who certainly could have told them the truth.
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