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The mercurial fortunes of Biden

WASHINGTON — Seldom before has a major American politician endured greater ups and downs in his career than the former vice president from Delaware. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 at age 29, weeks before he was old enough to qualify and serve, he lost his young wife and infant daughter in a car accident. He had to be persuaded by Sen. Ted Kennedy and others to take the seat, if only as therapy after the tragedy. He persevered for 36 years, commuting daily between Delaware and Washington, D.C., to care for his two young sons who survived the same crash. When he became ...

Questions about ‘China First’ shipment

A little less than two months ago, the U.S. State Department made a curious announcement that suggests President Trump’s “America First” administration put “China First” at a critical moment during the burgeoning Wuhan pandemic. I asked the State Department about the controversy this week — and the vague and nonresponsive responses I received on background from a Foggy Bottom spokesperson raise more questions than they answer. The Feb. 7, 2020 press statement attributed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headlined: “The United States Announces Assistance to Combat the ...

How Cuomo filled the void

“Politics abhors a vacuum,” said the late John McCain, as have others. The coronavirus menace shows the truth of it. President Donald Trump’s floundering response created a void into which New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was sucked. New York City is itself a stage, and Cuomo now commandeers the spotlight. His daily news conferences detailing how the state is dealing with COVID-19 have become a source of information and encouragement for Americans everywhere. And they underscore the serious leadership that has been missing on a national level. In a humorous piece — “Trump ...

Managing a virus disaster

I’m not sure whether COVID-19, first identified in Wuhan, China, in the U.S. qualifies as a true disaster. Putting the disease in perspective, we might look at current influenza illnesses. According to Centers for Disease Control estimates, between Oct. 1, 2019, and March 14, 2020, there have been 390,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations as a result of the flu, 38,000,000 to 54,000,000 flu illnesses and 23,000 to 59,000 flu deaths. That’s compared with, as of March 27, a total of 85,356 cases of COVID-19 resulting in the deaths of 1,246 people. But let’s agree that COVID-19 is a ...

Pandemic reveals flaws in global supply chain

Recently, the U.S. Senate investigated America's heavy reliance on China for key medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients. This is now a pressing issue, since the coronavirus pandemic has revealed troubling vulnerabilities in America's globalized supply chains. In fact, the United States relies on China for a vast array of resources-everything from surgical supplies and medical equipment to military hardware and rare earth metals. And many of these imports are now on hold, since the coronavirus has halted production in China. Particularly disturbing is that Beijing sees the ...

Fact: COVID-19 sickens but rarely kills

Yes. The world is in the midst of a pandemic of the COVID-19 virus. But in between all the political posturing and breathless, fear-inducing media coverage, can we all just take a deep, cleansing breath? In fact, take four or five. I usually deal in crime statistics, but this week, let’s look at health statistics, shall we? The World Health Organization warns that the U.S. may soon become the epicenter of the pandemic due to our “very large acceleration” of coronavirus cases. Well, of course there is an acceleration of U.S. cases because we are testing high-risk and ...