• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 5, 2020

This headline from TheNew York Times today really caught my eye. “‘Don’t Be Afraid Of COVID,’ Trump Tweets while West Wing Outbreak Grows.” 

A dozen people in daily close contact with him -- and that’s just the ones we know about -- have tested positive for the virus since he did on Friday. And he’s telling the world not to be worried about the virus. 

The virus, that is, that he likened to the “regular flu.” The one that he suggested people take a little bleach internally to get rid of. 

Trump has COVID-19, and that’s too bad. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. 

But I have no doubt he would, because he's just as mean-spirited, self-absorbed and dangerously inept as ever. 

Which brings me to my question of the day: Why is Biden easing up on smacking this guy around in his political ads? Sure, he’s ahead in the polls, but so was Hilary four years ago. Does anyone believe the polls anymore? 

Biden and all of his allies with money to spend on ads should be hammering home the point without letting up how Trump continues to harm the nation with his inept policies, racist vitriol and generally divisive impact on everything he touches.

And speaking of allies, The Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump conservative group, has also gone conspicuously quiet on the Trump front, after smacking him around mercilessly in one well-crafted ad after another for months. But nothing about Trump for a week now. 

The last ad, issued Sept. 29, was a thing of beauty.

It featured Chesley Sullenberger, the now retired pilot who miraculously landed a plane full of passengers on the Hudson River a decade ago without any loss of life. 

Sully noted that he knew from his service as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot that serving “a cause greater than oneself is the highest calling. And it’s that highest calling of leadership that Donald Trump has failed miserably.” 

See the full ad here. 

And keep those ads coming, LP. Are you listening, Joe?