[Mick]

Should Trump get credit for something any American president would do?

I think any American president should get credit for something positive that any American president would do.

---

I've been using some simple math: if we have 4% of the world's population, and 20% of it's Covid deaths, then it seems reasonable to say we have five times (20/4) more Covid deaths than we would have had with rest-of-the-world level of national response. One fifth of our 210K Covid deaths would be 42K. I blame Trump for 210K-42K, so 168K.



Of course I realize that's over simplification. And it's cheating to give what seems like an exact number, 168K, for what is a collection of estimates and assumptions that could really be better stated as "about 150K" or "more than 100K."

I think it is much more than an "oversimplification". It requires that all of the world is homogeneous, all peoples are the same, all countries are identical in every way ... Clearly not true. It also requires that EVERYTHING involving Covid-19 deaths is driven and controlled solely by the POTUS, which is also clearly not true.

One could in fact argue that the USA should have advantages in fighting Covid-19 over other nations, because we have a stronger economy, more scientists etc. I think there is plenty to blame Trump for, but let's not go into areas that require assumptions that we know are incorrect.

I think we have a number of natural national attributes that work against us in fighting COVID-19 over and above our political system and specific politicians, particularly our nationwide obsession with the primacy of the individual over the group.  We're the only nation that doesn't think of the American cowboy myth as a pejorative.  It's one attribute that cuts across race, gender and creed in merica.  Each one of us thinks we're the most bitchin' thing on wheels, and we don't need to pay attention to rules, laws or guidelines if we don't want to do so.

Let's also throw into the mix that Americans are particularly unhealthy.  Every time I think of our COVID death statistics I think of the fact that we have the highest number of obese and diabetic people in the world, by a considerable margin.  Our comorbidity factor is off the charts.

And finally, let's throw into the mix our political disunity, our tendency to negate the opinions of people who disagree with us, which has become much worse since the Internet, and has exacerbated general societal tensions.

Those are just three.  I'm sure there are more.

[Mick]

Should Trump get credit for something any American president would do?

I think any American president should get credit for something positive that any American president would do.

---

I've been using some simple math: if we have 4% of the world's population, and 20% of it's Covid deaths, then it seems reasonable to say we have five times (20/4) more Covid deaths than we would have had with rest-of-the-world level of national response. One fifth of our 210K Covid deaths would be 42K. I blame Trump for 210K-42K, so 168K.



Of course I realize that's over simplification. And it's cheating to give what seems like an exact number, 168K, for what is a collection of estimates and assumptions that could really be better stated as "about 150K" or "more than 100K."

I think it is much more than an "oversimplification". It requires that all of the world is homogeneous, all peoples are the same, all countries are identical in every way ... Clearly not true. It also requires that EVERYTHING involving Covid-19 deaths is driven and controlled solely by the POTUS, which is also clearly not true.

One could in fact argue that the USA should have advantages in fighting Covid-19 over other nations, because we have a stronger economy, more scientists etc. I think there is plenty to blame Trump for, but let's not go into areas that require assumptions that we know are incorrect.

I think we have a number of natural national attributes that work against us in fighting COVID-19 over and above our political system and specific politicians, particularly our nationwide obsession with the primacy of the individual over the group.  We're the only nation that doesn't think of the American cowboy myth as a pejorative.  It's one attribute that cuts across race, gender and creed in merica.  Each one of us thinks we're the most bitchin' thing on wheels, and we don't need to pay attention to rules, laws or guidelines if we don't want to do so.

Let's also throw into the mix that Americans are particularly unhealthy.  Every time I think of our COVID death statistics I think of the fact that we have the highest number of obese and diabetic people in the world, by a considerable margin.  Our comorbidity factor is off the charts.

And finally, let's throw into the mix our political disunity, our tendency to negate the opinions of people who disagree with us, which has become much worse since the Internet, and has exacerbated general societal tensions.

Those are just three.  I'm sure there are more.