(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Tonight’s second and final presidential debate is set to cover a half-dozen topics, but one really ought to stand out. The Covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 220,000 American lives and is currently taking another 700 each day. Cases are surging in at least 40 states. This week President Donald Trump said, “People are tired of Covid.” Indeed they are. Unfortunately, Covid isn’t tired of America.
The incumbent has presided over this calamity, and still gives no clear account of how policy should address it. Former vice president Joe Biden has rightly deplored the administration’s performance, but hasn’t said enough about what he’d do differently. Voters deserve some answers.
Trump resists more testing — it just turns up cases, he complains — and has started to hint at herd immunity as the right strategy. Meanwhile White House adviser Scott Atlas is downplaying masks and social distancing, to the dismay of other members of the coronavirus task force. So Trump should be asked whether the surge in cases should in his view be welcomed. If the president now believes in herd immunity, voters are entitled to know. If not, what does he intend to do about the accelerating rate of infections?
Biden needs to give some answers as well. He recently said that the pandemic had to be brought back under control before the economy could reopen. But how? He released a detailed plan back in the spring, and he promises to “listen to the scientists” — which would be enormous progress in itself, to be sure. But what might have worked in the spring and summer may not work now. That’s partly because Covid fatigue is indeed real, and is making people reluctant to accept new rounds of severe restrictions.
What would Biden do to encourage behavior that gets states to a point from which they can launch effective programs to test and trace? Is he for mask mandates, and how would they work? What’s his position on school reopenings?
After the first presidential debate, it would be foolish to expect much enlightenment from tonight’s event, but one can hope. The pandemic isn’t the only subject, by any means — but it’s of surpassing importance. The more closely the contenders are questioned on the issue, and the clearer they can be, the better.
Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.
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