Mark Levin, on his Fox News show "Life, Liberty & Levin," pretty much put the opposition media panic surrounding the coronavirus into context for the rest of us when he observed, "I watch this and I realize there're a lot of stupid people on TV. The last people I want playing doctor with me or the American people are Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi."
That’s as bracing as an ammonia capsule broken under your nose.
The "Chicken Little" tone of the coronavirus coverage is enough to make us wonder if this coverage is just a different approach to the "news" media’s obsession with getting rid of Trump. The only difference is this time instead of a thinly-veiled coup attempt, the opposition media is going to try and infect President Trump’s re-election campaign.
First there are the false claims of Center for Disease Control (CDC) "cuts" which never happened. Then there are attacks on Vice President Mike Pence who has been put in charge of the U.S. response to the virus.
That’s why it might be useful to compare Trump’s disease response to that of his predecessor Barack Obama.
Fortunately, Elizabeth Vaughn, at RedState.com, has done just that.
In April of the first year of "The One"’s reign, the swine flu was first detected and as Vaughn observes, according to the CDC this "'virus was a unique combination of influenza virus genes never previously identified in either animals or people.' [Which] sounds almost like the descriptions we’ve been hearing of the coronavirus."
Obama spoke to the public for less than a minute and a half regarding swine flu, offering these pearls of wisdom, "Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough. Stay home from work if you’re sick."
Then seven months later and after 1,000 deaths in the U.S., Obama finally declared the swine flu a public health emergency on Oct. 24, 2009.
Try as we might, we can’t find any opposition media condemnation of Obama’s incompetent response to the swine flu, or — any blaming the 1,000 deaths on Obama either.
We suppose because in those days the opposition media functioned as the Obama "Hallelujah" chorus.
Vaughn compared the Obama record of inaction with Trump’s response to coronavirus, approximately one month after coronavirus was discovered in China "President Trump declared a public health emergency. USA Today reported that 'quarantines of Americans who have recently been to certain parts of China' had been set up, 'the first quarantine order issued by the federal government in over 50 years.'"
And that was before any coronavirus deaths in the U.S.
In the meantime, Real Clear Science has "Five Reasons You Don't Need to Panic About the COVID-19 Coronavirus."
1.) The number of cases in China is already falling significantly.
2.) The vast majority of cases are mild, and the death rate is likely lower than reported.
3.) Only one out of every 1,000 people in Hubei Province has contracted the coronavirus.
4.) There have been no reported deaths in young children.
5.) The world already survived another pandemic just ten years ago.
What you should do is regularly disinfect your hands. Don’t touch your face when you’re out in public. And finally, if you feel sick, stay home. If it gets worse, and your symptoms feel like the description of coronavirus, go to the hospital for testing.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.