Give it another whack

I give Sunday’s wordy editorial, “Decisions, decisions” recommending Trump’s re-election, a D-. The recommendation is buried most timidly, in the 24th and final paragraph. Here, we learn that only by re-electing Trump can we save the country from a radical far-left agenda under Biden.

One gets the impression the paper wasn’t proud and wanted to hide that recommendation. The editorial leads off with a misdirection about Little Rock School Board elections. While important for Little Rock, many readers seeing this likely moved on. The remainder of the rambling editorial tries to make a case for a choice election between Trump and Biden. In the writers’ view, the choice is between an allegedly successful president whose only identified faults are his demeanor and tweets versus a candidate who they speculate could perhaps, just maybe be controlled by reprehensible far-left radicals.

They contend an “elephant in the room” is Biden’s inability to match Trump’s energy and mental sharpness. Perhaps the president’s enthusiastic, astounding recall of the words

“person, woman, man, camera, TV” convinced them.

I recommend a re-do. Unless the writers are too embarrassed, an endorsement must be full-throated. The title should be “Re-elect Trump.” The writers must address other elephants in the room. One is the administration’s reckless mishandling of the covid-19 crisis, costing so many thousands of American lives and billions in health-care costs. Another is why Trump’s destruction of American social fabric by fanning flames of racism, fear and division shouldn’t matter. The room is filled with other elephants. Crafting a credible endorsement of the worst president in history is no easy task. The writers can take their time.

BILL RAHN Morgan