"Dr. Birx makes a very transparent sycophant; she probably needs a few acting classes." Bob Dietz (June 27, 2020)
"Birx has gone the fealty route and realizes that she has embarrassed herself. She'd best wear ear plugs at most professional conferences going forward, because people are going to have a lot to say about her." Bob Dietz (June 27, 2020)
Well, it looks as if I was right as rain regarding Dr. Birx. Check out my full "Task Force Review" entry from June 27, 2020. Then read these recent articles of note:
First is from the July 18 New York Times, "Inside Trump's Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus." This comprehensive piece discusses the key role Dr. Birx played in the administration's failures.
Next is CNN's Paula Brown's "How Dr. Deborah Birx's political skills made her the most powerful person on the coronavirus task force." I read this before the N.Y.Times piece. It was the first report I'd read that highlighted Dr. Birx's self-serving wrong-mindedness.
Finally is Heather Digby Parton's July 20 piece in Salon, "Donald Trump's virus-whisperer: the tragic downfall of Dr. Deborah Birx." It follows up on the N.Y.Times report, adding additional details and observations.
Although I'm a big Hunter Thompson fan, I've never been a political junkie. I must say, though, that it's been easy for me to read between the lines and figure out the dynamics of things during the pandemic. Maybe it's the professional gambling and odds making. Or maybe people in the COVID-19 spotlight just can't hide their tells. Whatever the reason, I have damned near nailed everything. For example, I may have been the only reporter who commented on Dr. Fauci's oblique but pointed debunking of Birx's tone and spin when he followed her during the June 26 task force briefing. It was obvious as hell, and I'm sure professional scientists took note, but nobody in the national media highlighted it or asked the right questions. Evidently I have some sixth sense regarding pandemic politics.
I was right, for example, about the IHME models and how IHME as an organization fell into the black hole of the Trump White House, along with Dr. Birx. The IHME models were the rosiest of available projections. So they were adopted by the administration, and IHME became a cable staple. They were brutally wrong, of course, which was plain to see each step of the way. But they had their national exposure, ratings, and celebrity.
Dr. Birx, meanwhile, entered the West Wing echo chamber and fell prey to similar black hole celebrity. The July 18 Dahlia Lithwick piece in Slate reviewed Mary Trump's book and laid out this Donald Trump black hole theory. Competent people glom onto Donald Trump, commit to propping him up, and get swallowed into a black hole of celebrity incompetence. They can't break free because the cost to themselves is too high once they've committed. What they thought was a western frontier town milieu with a competent posse and sheriff turns out to be a Hollywood facade with people around Trump play-acting roles. Tragically, without the people in charge having actual expertise, acting can't save the day when real-world problems arise.
Dr. Birx's self-absorbed self-promotion has been exposed. Of all the health professionals, she routinely offered up the most optimistic vision. So of course her influence expanded. Science, however, does not function well in echo chambers.
Yesterday, July 21, President Trump gave his first "task force" briefing since my "Task Force Review." No health professionals spoke. Dr. Birx, according to Trump, was just outside the door in the next room. She's probably a bit podium-shy since questions regarding this week's reports of her influence and failures would be on the agenda. So she hid.
Evidently we now have a post-science task force. This should be fun.
Bob Dietz
July 22, 2020
