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While the president is pushing to reopen the country, the NYT reports today that his administration is privately projecting daily death tolls to nearly double this month.

The president wants very much for business to reopen and for things to return to normal as soon as possible, but that can never happen while his administration remains abnormal.

As long as trump remains committed to two conflicting goals in his schizoid approach to testing—on the one hand promising expanded testing (that isn’t happening) and on the other doing everything in his power to see that the numbers of those infected remain as low as possible—the numbers of tests administered will remain low and under-reporting of confirmed cases will continue.

As long as the president continues to demonstrate his failed leadership by leaving it to states’ governors to provide the leadership he is unwilling or incapable of providing, the uniformity of decision-making necessary to mount a united front in the battle to stem the pandemic will not occur.

The president can have his say, businesses may reopen, services may even return to some semblance of normal, but until a vaccine has been developed and is readily available, count me among those who will not enter their premises or avail myself of their services, except when unavoidable to obtain groceries and the like.

I’ve never had a taste for Russian roulette.

Tim Konrad