Issue in Focus: COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be an extremely difficult challenge for the Trump Administration and figured prominently in the debate associated with the 2020 Presidential election campaign. The issue has dominated the headlines and caused major social, economic, political as well as educational disruption over the last nine months or so. Despite reassuring messages and a growing degree of resignation from some public figures and media outletsthe virus has not disappeared and has in fact continued to spread across the country in waves as the death toll rises, confronting leaders with an ongoing series of complex, difficult and ethically-charged decisions and communications challenges.
Needs at least 8-12 well-chosen articles or videos on different aspects of the issue (and leader/s) in focus, though you may want to use more of course.
Your assignment is to write a well-crafted 1200-1600 word essay exploring this issue and the leadership (or mis-leadership) and ethics exhibited by U.S. leaders in addressing it. The essay should include well-developed answers to the following cluster of questions:
From the vantage point of November 2020, do you believe that the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered a national crisis as defined in the readings for this course? [Make sure to include and apply at least one explicit definition of crisis from the course readings and discuss to what extent COVID-19 has or has not fulfilled the criteria associated with that definition over the course of the pandemic thus far.]
Several of the readings (e.g. by Elliston, OLeary, and Marcus, Dorn et al) identify situations where experts or other subordinates may feel the need to guide leaders to make better-informed decisions, attempt to convince leaders to change poor decisions, correct misleading communications, blow the whistle or otherwise act to resist policies adopted by leaders. Briefly describe at least two forms of such bottom up leadership to be found in the course readings and provide examples from COVID-19.
Using the book by Gini and Green as a point of departure, evaluate the leadership of one of the following leaders with regard to COVID 19: President Donald Trump, Vice-President Michael Pence, Dr. Anthony Fauci, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Vice President or Presidential candidate Joe Biden. In other
words, to what extent do you think your chosen leaders response to this issue is consistent (or inconsistent) with Gini and Greens list of modern leadership virtues. [Make sure to discuss at least three of the virtues.]
The following sources are drawn from somewhat different political and journalistic angles and should help to get you started. Please be source critical and sensitive to bias as well as the difference between news and opinion pieces. You are encouraged to find and use additional sources as needed regarding the issues and the specific leaders you are writing about. Do not worry if for some reason you cannot access a particular source on this list; other equivalent sources (including ones that may be published over the course of the week) are fine to use too:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2029812
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-60-minutes-interview-
lesley-stahl/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joe-biden-democratic-presidential-
candidate-kamala-harris-60-mintues-interview-norah-odonnell-2020-10-
25/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fauci-no-surprised-trump-covid-19- media-appearances-60-minutes/
https://www.staugustine.com/story/opinion/2020/09/17/thiessen-trump- did-listen-experts-pandemic-they-failed-him/3477950001/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/opinion/sunday/coronavirus- united-states.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/us/politics/trump-fauci-covid.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-usa-cdc/cdc-director-
contradicts-trump-on-coronavirus-were-nowhere-near-the-end-nbc-
idUSL1N2GP0FO
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/27/here-are-trump- administrations-four-most-profound-failures-pandemic/
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live- updates/2020/10/06/920985099/government-scientist-tops-up-whistle- blower-complaint-and-quits-nih
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/todaysdebate/2020/10/29/coro navirus-surrender-chief-donald-trump-doesnt-deserve-reelection-editorials- debates/6006917002/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williammeehan/2020/04/30/anthony-s- fauci-md-part-iii-the-7-principles-of-faucian-leadership/?sh=14d27a8b313d
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/18/opinions/joe-biden-leadership-cnn- town-hall-mcintosh/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/presidential-election-joe-biden
https://www.amazon.com/American-Crisis-Leadership-COVID-19-
Pandemic/dp/0593239261
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/10/7/21504186/mike-pence-
coronavirus-covid-vice-presidential-debate-trump
Additional sources from the early months of the pandemic
https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/coronavirus
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-
coronavirus.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/22/politics/andrew-cuomo-press- conferences/index.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/presidents-character-unequal- task/608743/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/opinions/americans-like-trump-handling-crisis- opinion-jennings/index.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus- end/608719/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/26/trump-understands-what- his- critics-dont-current-lockdown-is- unsustainable/https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/opinions/americans-like-trump- handling-crisis-opinion-jennings/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-signals-readiness-to-break- with- experts-his-online-base-assails-fauci/2020/03/26/3802de14-6df6-11ea-aa80- c2470c6b2034_story.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-coronavirus-trump/democratic- group- defies-trump-ramps-up-ad-blasting-coronavirus-response- idUSKBN21D3BR
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/14/21177509/coronavirus- trump- covid-19-pandemic-response
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/03/22/coronavirus-anthony-fauci- will- help-save-american-lives-column/2883981001/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/politics/fauci-trump-easter-coronavirus- pandemic/index.html
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/i-m-going-keep-pushing-anthony- fauci- tries-make-white-house-listen-facts-pandemic
