How quickly we forget

It is snarky and partisan but it is worth making a different point than is being suggested.

Just remember that when #Democrats criticize @realDonaldTrump for not taking #coronavirus seriously, they held IN-PERSON ELECTIONS in 30 STATES since #Trump formed the #CoronaVirusTaskForce on Jan. 29 #TrumpOwnsEveryDeath #FakeNews

OH Gov DeWine (R) was first to urge to stop pic.twitter.com/8aW3RnUzi0

— Political Gritty is Quarantined (@PoliticalGritty) April 2, 2020

I have been saying all along that we simply do not have enough information to make life-and-death decisions and yet those decisions have to be made. Shut down flights to China too early and you are a xenophobe helping to crush the economy. Shut it down too late and you are indifferent to the lives of citizens. Or so is claimed.

No! We don't know. We cannot make informed decisions and we don't have time to wait for reliable data. Leaders have to make the best decisions they can with little ability to "prove" it is a good decision. Or even a reasonable decision.

And the deeper we get into the crisis, the harder it is to maintain perspective of who knew what when, who had legitimate concerns when. And the above tweet is a good reminder of that. Trump formed the Corona Virus Task Force on January 29th and cancelled flights between China and US on the 31st.

I don't recall any concerns about Iowa. Or even Nevada. Sometime in March, I think there began to be some chatter about voting during a potential pandemic. March was pivotal. Even up to mid-March I don't recollect much concern.

And that was barely three weeks ago. We began taking it very seriously, very quickly and want to remember ourselves as being cleverly alert and concerned.

Aware we might possibly have been. Demonstrably concerned. Much less so.