"Give us a president who is as boring as a root vegetable. Give us somebody who speaks in sentences, and makes speeches we can let our kids listen to, and who is also more mature than those kids.

Give us a president who reads, and knows what he doesn’t know, and is capable of learning anything. Somebody with a rudimentary understanding of the economy, and science, and some inkling of the pain and suffering and love and courage among the citizens he is sworn to serve. Somebody who understands those citizens include even those who did not vote for him, and that government, including the attorney general, works for the people, and not personally for him.

Give us someone who sees a national crisis — a long overdue reckoning over racism, a deadly pandemic, an economy in free fall — and tries to calm the storm, instead of making it exponentially worse. Who doesn’t encourage white supremacists, who can decry a plot by domestic terrorists to kidnap a sitting governor, and restrain himself from attacking their intended victim.

Give us a president whose usual behavior is distinguishable from the drug-induced kind, rather than someone whose irrational, grandiose edicts and sudden reversals may or may not be due to the psychiatric side effects of the drug he is taking because he contracted a virus he still refuses to take seriously. Somebody who cares if he infects others, including those whose jobs give them no choice but to be near him.

Give us a president capable of humility, empathy, and shame. Who values democratic ideals, including the rule of law. Somebody who wants a country where every vote has equal worth, and for whom allowing Americans to easily cast ballots is a goal, and not a threat to his rule. Somebody who believes murderous autocrats should be pariahs, not his best buddies, that our allies are to be treasured, and who understands that welcoming refugees is fundamental to who we are. Somebody for whom a soldier’s sacrifice is not unfathomable, but rather something simply to honor. Someone who understands the meaning of honor.

Give us somebody who is not so appalling that our mayors and governors and legislators get a pass because at least they’re not him. And give us a country where we nominate someone who matches our ambitions for the country, instead of the placeholder most likely to beat him and stanch the bleeding.

Give us a White House where there is love, and joy, and celebration, and maybe even a dog. Where employees don’t have to risk their lives, and serve a president who sees and respects them. Make it a beacon that belongs to the American people again, and not a taxpayer-funded set for tawdry, law-violating campaign events and state propaganda.

It is so little to ask for: not a perfect president, or even a great one — just somebody who is not toxic and broken, not an existential threat. Somebody who can stop us sliding further into hatred and self-absorption and decay, so that Democrats and Republicans of good conscience can start the hard work of climbing out. Somebody who is not him.

He has taken so much from us. We are so very tired. Make it stop."

“Sometimes for voters it’s about what has really hit you viscerally and directly,” says Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. “That’s the kind of issue this is: It hit people hard. Those are the kinds of things people remember. In a close election, it’s definitely one of the things that could sway the election.”

“Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced Tuesday an additional $100 million in donations to local governments to pay for polling place rentals, poll workers, personal protective equipment and other election administration costs over the coming weeks,” the Washington Post reports.

“The donation, which follows a previous gift of $300 million for state and local governments to help fund U.S. elections, comes in the face of a lawsuits from a conservative legal group seeking to block the use of private funds for the state and local administration of elections, an expense that has historically been paid for by governments.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made a maskless appearance at President Trump’s rally in the state while giving high fives to people in the crowd before rubbing his nose.

DeSantis lifted all restrictions on the state’s restaurants and bars approximately two weeks ago despite a coronavirus infection rate that’s going up.

The pandemic has already forced at least 100,000 restaurants to close indefinitely or permanently.
Those that have stayed open in big metros have done so by seating patrons outside. And although many cities are extending outdoor dining permits into the fall and winter, restaurateurs doubt customers will want to sit outside in the cold or the rain — unless they spend big on outdoor heaters.

Many other businesses — from yoga studios to music schools — have been conducting classes outside all summer. Their customers may disappear in the winter, too.

The unemployment situation is rapidly worsening. "We’re seeing a transition from short-term unemployment to a situation where a lot of these workers are not going to have a job to get back to," says James Stock, an economist at Harvard.

And the lack of stimulus money and unemployment insurance is pushing Americans to tighten their wallets — a troubling sign for the economy's health.

"The expiration of enhanced unemployment insurance benefits pulled $667 billion in purchasing power out of the economy in August alone," per the Economic Policy Institute.