1. So this story drops as I am pushing out my forecast update, the writing part of which is due to an editor at 12pm today.

It discusses how an epically mismanaged pandemic response changed little bc polarization=sick body politic

An intentionally mismanaged one won't either

2. I cannot stress enough how badly f'ed democratic accountability is in the United States & how much a role media segmentation & media propaganda (mechanisms of polarization) play in it.

That we'll be talking about a potential Trump 2nd term- given this, given ALL of this

3. means our democracy is in failure. That we'll be looking at polls that put Trump at 45%, 47% in swing states AFTER these revelations means our democracy is in failure. It's not normal. It can only happen because about 1/3 of the country will never hear these Woodward segments

4. They will not seek them out online bc it will hurt them psychologically and their media universe will protect them from the full content, and instead, present them an alternative version of the story. They will certainly never realize the extent of Trump's deception & how he

5. led them like lambs to a slaughter, through Feb and March in giant rallies. A functional democracy, a healthy body politic, a society with citizens receiving factual information, as conservative voters in foreign countries do about Trump's performance, and Trump is not viable

6. To win reelection. But despite all of this. Despite this absolutely disqualifying event, Trump is going to receive votes from 46, 47, 48% of Americans. BC our democracy is failing. And its failing from the bottom up. The manipulations & mechanizations might come from the

7. top-down , but the solution is going to have to come the hard way, from the bottom up. BC as it stands today, democratic accountability is broken. And when you don't have that- you don't have anything.