My theory of the problem with America is that we are paying so much attention to politics that it’s fried our brains. I see it on both sides, people are absolutely hyperventilating about what Trump is doing or not doing, what the democrats are or are not doing about whatever Trump is or is not doing. Liberal women taking to TikTok to tell other liberal women to buy “cute winter boots” (read: firearms to hold threateningly near ICE agents). Honestly, I think most of this will eventually blow over and mean nothing. We aren’t going to take Greenland or Panama. I doubt we’ll do anything substantial in Gaza. The purge of government employees won’t change anything substantially, and might make things more efficient, maybe (I don’t think it will, it will mostly make a giant mess). I don’t think this is anything the liberal side fears. Trump isn’t ending democracy, and he likes Jews too much to be Hitler. It’s actually somewhat amusing that people believe in the End of Our Democracy— by a guy who has never bothered to pay attention in briefings.

As far as the Covid response, I don’t see how Biden did all that well. At best, his success was being elected after the virus had burned through the population. By the time Biden was in position to do anything in January of 2021, the virus had been around for five years, most sane people were vaccinated, and often had a couple of boosters, and the virus had weakened enough to be a glorified flu bug.