Outside the Beltway

Last night amplifies a long pattern.

A lot to think about, not a lot of conclusions.

The votes for President and the ballot measures don’t seem to line up.

It’ll be days before we know the final 2020 results but a resounding repudiation is unlikely.

The expectations game will be especially tricky this year.

Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!

Trump needs them both.

Some thoughts on voter enthusiasm and EV scenarios.

Trump has pulled ahead in some individual polls but Biden continues to have a commanding lead.

When early voting meets tragedy.

Fear of a reprise of 2016 is still with us.

The two parties learned different lessons from the last contested election.

Another unwelcome milestone that magical thinking won’t fix.

Election Day is increasingly a myth.

Some surprising poll numbers.

Reminders from a perusal of the news.

Alabama’s head football coach and athletic director have both tested positive for COVID-19.

His campaign now wants more live debates.

They are standing by as ordered.

A national nightmare that may not have changed many minds.

An unconvincing attack on the Democratic position.

The President is deeply leveraged with no escape in sight.

Injecting data into the conversation.

A long-winded and esoteric discussion about an elusive idea.

A fundamental building block of our system makes it nearly impossible to fix.

President Trump is historically unpopular and has consistently trailed Joe Biden. He could still win.

The Electoral College is once again having the opposite effect of what its defenders claim.

A game wherein one team has to score more points to win than does the other.

The two oldest major party nominees in American history are not inspiring great confidence.

Accuracy takes time.

This is not even close to the worst it’s ever been.

The President has hit rock bottom.

A great character actor is gone.

Comparisons with 2016 all work against Trump’s re-election.

The President does not like his poll numbers.

The trend line shifted this week.

Even Republicans are wondering if President Trump is at his “Katrina moment.”

It is foolish to think that we ever escape politics.

Of course he did.

Joementum.

Something significant was going to happen to Tulsa. Who could have predicted a genre shift?

A case where the rules probably shouldn’t apply to the President.

Racial and xenophobic rhetoric and Covid-19.

This time, the Pences

The gaslighting will continue until morale improves.

Outside agitators, including white supremacist groups, are shaping public perception of the George Floyd protests.

Former prosecutors are suddenly “out.”

Hypocrisy, lies, and dangerous rhetoric from Trump and his allies on mail-in voting.

The President’s unhinged Twitter rants have drawn a rebuke from an unlikely source.

Every Democratic woman seems to be under consideration.