Recommended Reading

This piece by Ed Kilgore may bring comfort to some of my friends who think that if Donald Trump wins a second term, he won't get a third because there will be no United States left. It shows how Trump's current disapproval ratings show him unlikely to win anywhere near enough electoral votes to win next year.

Now, three points to make, one being that that as of now we're 448 days from Election Day so a lot can happen before then, especially in this race. Another is that a lot of folks are sure that computers will be hacked and various and sundry Russians will deliver the numbers for Trump, no matter how many actual votes he gets. I don't think that's true but for those who believe it is, this article won't soothe their worries.

And thirdly of course, even if the polls on 11/2/2020 (i.e., the day before Election Day) show only a 3% chance of a Trump victory, Democrats need to behave like it says 99% and turn out every vote they can. The list of things that can happen in those 448 days include some which would not be good for them.

And by the way: Could we please (pretty please?) do away with statements like, "He's sure to win. I know so many people who will vote for him" and "He's sure to lose. I know so many people who would never vote for him."? The people you know are not a good sampling of America. This is why pollsters don't just survey their friends.