From the Washington Post:
Trump Isn’t Contagious Now. But His Administration Will Still Get People Sick.
What’s more disturbing to epidemiologists like me is that Trump continues to act in ways—and model behavior—that run directly counter to best practices for controlling infections. Even after becoming the world’s most famous covid-19 patient, Trump demonstrates an utter lack of seriousness or willingness to manage the virus.
—Saskia Popescu
From the Washington Post:
Trump’s Intel Chief Is Undermining U.S. Intelligence. He Should Resign.
He either lied at the time or changed his mind. Two of his predecessors under Trump—Dan Coats and Joseph Maguire—were under similar pressure to politicize intelligence, and they did not cave. It seems Ratcliffe did; in fact, it seems he led the charge. In either case, we think both Republicans and Democrats should demand his resignation.
—Michael Morell and Mike Vickers
From CNN:
The Three Biggest Myths About Battleground States
What makes swing states unique is that the demographic distribution of Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning voters is more balanced—making election results less predictable.
—Justin Gest
From Foreign Policy:
70 Is the New 50 for World Leaders
So having a President who is 70-something should not be a cause for concern. In fact, it may be an advantage in the United States’ current political situation.
—Jack A. Goldstone
From the Hill:
The Looming Battle Over Latino Voters
Although the advantage with Latino voters right now belongs to the Democratic Party, there is enough evidence of Republican growth within some segments of the Latino community to suggest a looming battle for the future votes of Latino Americans.
—Mark J. Rozell
From the Conversation:
How a Government-Linked Foundation Could Speed the Spread of New Clean-Energy Technologies
A clean energy foundation might convene stakeholders, mobilize private and philanthropic partners and devise strategies to bring technology solutions to these challenges to market. It could bring to these collaborations access to the world-class expertise and facilities of the department’s 17 national laboratories and network of academic researchers.
—David M. Hart
From the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star:
The Christian Right Is Taking a Gamble on Donald Trump
As most religious conservatives remain Trump voters this year, there is a danger to the Christian Right movement in its association with a president widely seen by Americans as possessing deep character flaws.
—Mark J. Rozell
From Real Clear Energy:
Getting to the Sweet Spot in Curbing Methane and CO2
This debate will be useful only if all stakeholders accept the reality of a hybrid energy system that requires both renewable and carbon-based sources. Then we can address how to achieve meaningful climate goals while ensuring access to reliable, diversified, sustainable energy for the American people and our economy.
—Richard Kauzlarich
From the Baltimore Sun:
The Role of Religion in Presidential Elections
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump themselves may not say much directly about religion in this election, but their campaigns surely will be working hard to court key religious blocks, as all recognize the powerfully important role that faith plays in presidential elections.
—Mark J. Rozell
From the Washington Post:
Joe Biden Has a Better Option Than Court-Packing: Legislating
Indeed, one sweet irony of such a strategy is that it would use the oft-professed judicial philosophy of Barrett and the court’s other “textualists”—that courts should leave policymaking to elected officials and stick to the text of the laws and the Constitution—to tie them up in a legal straitjacket of their own making.
—Steven Pearlstein
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Stop Spending on Bricks-and-Mortar and Start Investing in Online Education
It also is evident that those who might prefer a blackboard have a long way to go. The days of a camera aimed at an overhead projector slide are more than just old school, and the idea that we’ll be able to capture and hold the attention of the TikTok generation with a barebones Zoom call isn’t going to get it.
—David Ramadan
From Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN):
The Middle East and the U.S. 2020 Election: Change or Continuity?
In short, while Biden would be a step in the right direction and a refreshing break from Trump, it’s far from clear that a Biden administration would fundamentally change US policy toward the region.
—Jonathan Hoffman, Political Science PhD Student
From the Roanoke Times:
Election Surprise: What If Nobody Wins the Electoral College?
It is possible though that not all electors would in fact cast their votes the way they are pledged. Amazingly, a single elector could play kingmaker in this circumstance.
—Mark J. Rozell
From the Conversation:
The Underappreciated and Critical Catholic Vote in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election
Given these varied results, it is hard to imagine the Catholic vote as a monolithic force, and indeed, it remains strong split between the major parties. However, it is important to understand the diversity of US Catholics and the challenges that any candidate faces when seeking to appeal to them.
—Mark J. Rozell and Blandine Chelini-Pont
From the Hill:
Betting on the ‘Base’—Can Trump Win Again?
It looks like the only way to avoid chaos is for one of the candidates to have a landslide victory that becomes clear on election night. Right now, that kind of victory looks more likely for Biden than for Trump.
—Bill Schneider
From the Washington Post:
Trump Is in Debt. We Can’t Ignore the National Security Risks That Come with That.
Having said that, we have no doubt that if the president were a normal applicant for a job requiring access to classified information, any adjudicator we know would have rejected him over concerns that his high levels of debt would create an unacceptable counterintelligence risk. Trump would have been denied a clearance.
—Michael Morell and David Kris
From the Cipher Brief:
Why the U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal Has Already Failed
The Taliban’s unwillingness to follow the agreement’s conditions, evident in the consistent attacks on Afghan security forces; inadequate intra-Afghan peace talks; and the omittance of guarantees for women’s rights, only illuminate the deal’s failure. The deal, in its current form, will leave the Afghan people to fend for themselves against the very forces that engulfed it in decades-long conflict.
—Ameen Karim, Master’s in International Security student
From the National Interest:
Can Iran Exploit It’s Remaining Oil Wealth?
Tehran has tried to bypass sanctions and keep exports flowing by smuggling cargos to countries like Venezuela and China. But the measly revenues that come from these sales have hardly helped the government or the struggling oil sector.
—Omid Shokri Kalehsar
From the Washington Post:
Virginia Voting Reform Debuts in a Contentious, High-Stakes Election
Polling suggests that Virginia will remain Democratic for a fourth consecutive presidential race, but Republicans have a knack for finishing closer than polls predict. A tight race in Virginia in an explosive political environment with absentee ballots uncounted on election night is a challenging scenario to debut new voting reforms alongside a troubled, old election IT system.
—Mark J. Rozell