Coronavirus tragedy a central theme in Biden’s election bid
by Michael Cook | 22 Aug 2020 |
Apart from painting the 2020 presidential election as a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light, Joe Biden’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this week was largely about America’s battle with Covid-19.
It was a virtual convention, with all of its speakers online, and Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris had to wave at small groups projected onto a giant screen instead of at a chanting crowd. Unsurprisingly, he laid the blame for death and disruption of the pandemic squarely at the feet of President Trump.
“Just judge this president on the facts. 5 million Americans infected with COVID-19. More than 170,000 Americans have died. By far the worst performance of any nation on Earth,” he declared.
“The tragedy of where we are today is it didn't have to be this bad. Just look around. It's not this bad in Canada. Or Europe. Or Japan. Or almost anywhere else in the world. The President keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear. He keeps waiting for a miracle. Well, I have news for him, no miracle is coming. We lead the world in confirmed cases. We lead the world in deaths. Our economy is in tatters, with Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American communities bearing the brunt of it. And after all this time, the president still does not have a plan.”
Mr Biden said that he has a plan to bring the pandemic to an end: rapid testing, abundant made-in-USA medical supplies, and mandatory masking.
The President’s failure to protect Americans from Covid-19 is “unforgivable”, he declared. “As president, I will make you this promise: I will protect America. I will defend us from every attack. Seen. And unseen. Always. Without exception. Every time.”
Bioethical issues have often featured in US presidential campaigns, notably abortion and public healthcare. But this may be the first in which they are nearly the only ones. Mr Biden alluded to racial justice, Russian meddling, climate change, taxing the rich and economic devastation, but he returned to two themes over and over – Covid-19 and the President’s character.
There are only 10 weeks to go before the November 3 election. The statistical website FiveThirtyEight gave Biden a 73% chance of winning as of yesterday.
Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge
As I see it, there are only three topics worth talking about at the moment: Trump vs Biden, the coronavirus pandemic, and Trump vs Biden on the coronavirus pandemic. Sorry, there is a fourth, Christopher Nolan’s new film, Tenet, which looks quite intriguing, but does not fit into BioEdge very neatly.
Just after I finished writing today’s lead story about the Joe Biden’s acceptance speech, he expanded on its central theme: that he will do a better job ending the pandemic than Trump. In an interview with ABC TV, he declared that he would shut the country down rather than let the pandemic roar out of control.
“I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving, until we control the virus,” Biden declared. “In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus.”
That puts bioethics at the very centre of this strange election.
Michael Cook
Editor
Just after I finished writing today’s lead story about the Joe Biden’s acceptance speech, he expanded on its central theme: that he will do a better job ending the pandemic than Trump. In an interview with ABC TV, he declared that he would shut the country down rather than let the pandemic roar out of control.
“I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving, until we control the virus,” Biden declared. “In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus.”
That puts bioethics at the very centre of this strange election.
Michael Cook
Editor
NEWS THIS WEEK
by Michael Cook | Aug 22, 2020
He laid the blame for death and disruption of the pandemic squarely at the feet of President Trump.by Michael Cook | Aug 22, 2020
A revealing article in Harper's Magazine raises agonising questionsby Michael Cook | Aug 22, 2020
Should we question the public health benefits of abortion?by Michael Cook | Aug 22, 2020
Transgender surgery in the United States is a kind of Wild Wild West of medicineby Michael Cook | Aug 22, 2020
The gimmick provoked some controversy: “Imagine telling a child that they came from an Instagram giveaway.” BioEdge
L1, Unit 7, 11 Lord Street · Botany, NSW 2019 · Australia
Phone: +61 2 8005 8605
Mobile: 0422-691-615
.png)
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario