Olivier Knox: “With relatively few exceptions in U.S. history, the top brass at the Pentagon has known more about waging war than the president of the United States, but he’s the one in charge. The CIA has more spycraft. NASA has actual rocket scientists. But they, too, answer to the Oval Office.”
“The pandemic has given Americans a refresher course in federalism, reminding us of the central importance of governors, even if Washington made many of the most consequential decisions, like spurring vaccine development. But it is also testing American attitudes about whether elected officials or infectious-disease experts should call the shots…”
“Politicians get the last word for the same reason the Constitution anoints the president commander in chief and reserves the power to declare war for Congress — they’re directly accountable to the voters. The experts are not.”
