It didn’t have to be this bad

Syracuse may make tournament

There were still plenty of people walking around on Lake George Thursday, but with the temperature approaching 60 degrees, there were signs of open water and, yes, spring.

Morning Briefing

Saturday, March 13, 2021

As editor of The Post-Star one year ago, I wrote an editorial that criticized the Trump administration for its lack of leadership in addressing the burgeoning pandemic. It wasn’t about politics, it was about the safety of our community.

It was Friday the 13th and there was a full moon.

Earlier in the week, the newspaper had hosted its annual “Teen Excellence” breakfast without masks or social distancing. The publisher did announce that out of caution we would not be shaking hands with the award recipients.

We had a long way to go.

A couple weeks later, we closed the newsroom and reporters and editors worked from home.

In reading the editorial a year later, it struck me that our editorial board had a better handle on the pandemic than the president did at the time.

He called it a “Democratic hoax” at one of his rallies.

The administration was keeping information on the scope and danger of the pandemic secret. During an Oval Office address one year ago, the president cast blame overseas, rather than addressing testing and actions to make us all safer.

We related that the administration had made the content of coronavirus meetings secret.

We pointed out that both the NCAA and the NBA had put the safety of their athletes first and canceled their seasons.

“Good leadership would have focused on protecting our vulnerable citizens, instead of vulnerable bank accounts. The president’s lack of candor compounded the problem,” the editorial said.

A year later, I will go a step further, getting the general public to embrace mask-wearing and adhere to social distancing were our most significant problems, and in many ways it continues to this day with politics driving community safety standards in places like Texas.

The latest statistics show that 1 in 5 of us in New York have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. I’m feeling a lot more optimistic.

In very different White House address Thursday night than the one a year ago, President Biden did not cast blame, but provided hope and details of a normal future. It should give the Fourth of July even greater meaning this year.

A year ago, the editorial concluded like this:

“This is a time for all of us in our community to come together and demand that our government be honest for a change. That has not been the case so far.”

It took a year, but we finally got there.

The toll

There has been a significant toll. The Washington Post produced a map that has the total number of cases an deaths in each county in the United States.

Here were the numbers locally as of March 12:

• Warren County: 2,946 cases; 55 deaths.

• Washington County: 2,435 cases; 54 deaths.

• Saratoga County: 12,571 cases; 149 deaths.

• Essex County: 1,378 cases; 26 deaths.

• Hamilton County: 287 cases; 2 deaths.

A good sign

Walking around Lake George on Thursday with the temperature approaching 60, I saw this sign. Anytime you see the “Frostbite cruise” has been canceled is a good sign that spring is on the way.

Girard update

It was not a good shooting day for Joe Girard III on Wednesday. Syracuse was up 12 at one point in the first half against top-seeded Virginia before kicking away the lead. Girard was able to maneuver for some solid open looks, but only hit 1 of 8 shots for the day and he sat for mot of the second half.

Syracuse must now await its fate regarding the NCAA Tournament. The experts seem to be leaning toward a bid for the Orange. 

Tweet of the Day

Charles M. Blow @CharlesMBlow

There is growing asymmetry in the way Dems and Repubs respond to scandal: Dems, pursuing moral clarity and consistency, rush to expunge the offender; Repubs defend or ignore the offender to the end. It all produces an extreme inequality of consequences for the same offenses.