The Rose Garden experiment

One after another, people who were present at the ceremony have announced that they’ve got it. It’s like a roll call of the damned. Kellyanne Conway: present. Kayleigh McEnany: present. Mike Lee: present. In the court of the mad king, a positive test, and a presumed recovery, is perhaps essential for every courtier who wants to be in the inner circle. When you hear of someone at the top who doesn’t have it, you have to wonder about their commitment to the operation. I thought Stephen Miller was going to commit Seppuku but Tuesday he was able to confirm he has it, too. And it’s fine to have a little laugh at their expense—COVID-19 is political, and to many conservatives, including presumably those infected at the White House, getting the bug is nothing to worry about.

The Rose Garden event may come to be regarded as the most unscientific, and unethical, experiment in the world. If all of these people bounce back, maybe COVID-19 isn’t such a big deal. If several of them don’t fare well, then the liberal inclination to take it more seriously is justified. Either way, it would be an experiment of zero statistical value, but this event has captured the attention of the nation, and these outcomes will count for more than they should—more, for some, than the evidence of 210,000 dead.