Biden Doubles Vaccination Goal in First 100 Days to 200 Million

In his first press conference, President Joe Biden doubled his initial commitment to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office. Both the supply and the rate of vaccinations (2 million per day) have increased sufficiently in the last ten weeks to make the goal doable. As of the end of March, 71 percent of adults over the age of 65 have received one shot.

Although infections, hospitalizations and deaths have slowed, they are still substantial. In the last month, the U.S. and Brazil were the two countries logging in more fatalities, with 50,000 in the U.S. and 60,000 in Brazil. The two countries continue to lead the world in total deaths. A new entrant into the list of top seven nations for deaths is Russia (97,000), just passing France.

In a powerful new CNN documentary by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s medical correspondent, Dr. Deborah Birx offers the view that the number of U.S. deaths could have been substantially reduced if the lessons from the surge in April had been universally applied by states and cities as they faced later surges.

The Biden administration and its medical advisors continue to be worried that many states and locals are easing up on restrictions too quickly. Also, there is considerable concern about anti-vaccine messaging. Upwards of a third of Republicans claim they won’t take the shot.

Can Congressional Democrats Pass Gun Control in 2021?

Colorado has been the victim of three nationally significant mass shootings since the late 1990s: Columbine, Aurora Theater and Boulder King Soopers. David Siders, a senior writer for Politico, uses Colorado as a model for the challenges and opportunities for gun control after a mass shooting. He points out that gun control is popular with the public, the NRA is in disarray and Democrats control the presidency and Congress. This should be the year for passage of at least universal background checks.

But, gun control has been a top Democratic agenda item at least since 2012 (Sandy Hook) and has not passed Congress. Of course, the current Democratic majority is exceptionally slim, making Democrats’ success tenuous since there is still little Republican support identified. Will 2021 be different?

Siders quoted me saying:

“But even if legislation ultimately fails in Washington, holding a vote on a major gun reform bill could be politically significant ahead of the midterm elections next year. For Democrats, said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver-based pollster, such legislation ‘would be, at least to some extent, to get a vote on it and be able to use it in suburban districts’ in Colorado and across the country.”

Gun safety advocates rally in front of the U.S.
Supreme Court | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Japan – First Foreign Visits for U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense

The first trip abroad of the American Secretaries of State and Defense were to their counterparts in Japan. Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi said on March 16 the “free and open international order is greatly challenged by attempts to change the status quo by force and progress of authoritarian system.” Secretary Blinken agreed: “China uses coercion and aggression to systemically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undercut democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and assert maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law.”

Although Japan has been a U.S. ally for decades, it is now the country the U.S. is forging a special relationship with as Asia becomes the primary foreign policy theater and China the focus of its attention. Demonstrating the heightened attention is that Prime Minister Suga will be the first top foreign leader to visit the White House.

During the Trump presidency, due to Shinzo Abe’s personalized outreach, Japan avoided much of the disruption rained on other U.S. allies. Japan’s concerns about China are well-established and now mirror those of the U.S. Japan under Abe promoted the Indo-Pacific as a strategic concept and created a replacement trade structure for the failed TPP. In fact, Japan’s reputation in South East Asia is better than the U.S. President Joe Biden and Blinken will push for some reconciliation with South Korea and an increase in defense spending. But as of now, Japan is first in Asia for America’s attention.

U.S. and China: “Getting Real in Anchorage”

Secretary Tony Blinken’s first exchange with China’s Communist Party’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, got testy before they finished their opening remarks as the usual protocol was pushed aside and each side made its case in full force. The four-minute photo op became a 1:15 minute debate over the flaws and ill-intent of each country. The media described the exchange as testy, frothy and rocky (Brookings called the exchange “Getting real in Anchorage”).

At the conclusion of the exchange, it was clear a new era had begun for China and U.S. relations. Having passed beyond any expectations of China evolving, or Obama’s “pivot” to Asia, or Trump’s trade deficit focus, a new, broader and more ambitious policy is being adopted. Asia is now the primary theater and the U.S. is looking for allies, with Japan the top prospect and the Quad newly revived.

Although Blinken, Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met later in some more amicable substantive conversations, China relations are now highly competitive and the main focus of disputes will be values and ideals of democracy and application of the rule of law, or which system can produce the most peace, prosperity and security for their own and the world’s population.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, far right, speaks as Chinese Communist
Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, left, and China's State Councilor
Wang Yi, second from left, listen at the opening session of US-China talk,
Anchorage, Alaska, March 18, 2021 | Frederic J. Brown/Pool via AP

Biden’s First Multilateral Meeting – The Quad

President Joe Biden’s first multilateral meeting was to host the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) in its first meeting of heads of government since it was founded more than a decade ago. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the summit of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. as a “critical part of the architecture of the Indo-Pacific.”

The Quad has been an informal forum, and some observers point out that the members have different agendas and political cultures, but at the moment, they appear united in concern about China’s expansionist foreign policy. And, the Biden administration has clearly made reviving it a top priority.

At the initial session, the members agreed to a vaccine production and distribution strategy in Asia. Will it become a beginning of a coalition capable of addressing a broader agenda of diplomatic, military and economic initiatives? Could climate change, cyber security and military coordination be on a future agenda?

Fortunately for President Biden, the U.S. public has a very favorable view of Quad members with Gallup’s latest poll showing: Japan 84 percent, Australia 88 percent and India 77 percent. Also, in the recent past, China’s favorability in the developed world collapsed and in particular the U.S. (20%, down from 53% in 2018), mostly due to the handling of COVID-19. The administration has public support to get tough on China.

The Quad: President Joe Biden (top left), Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide
Suga, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister
Scott Morrison participate in the virtual Quad meeting,
March 12, 2021 | Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Diplomacy Program: Japan and the U.S.

As the Biden Administration works to reset foreign policy, Asia is now its primary international relations arena. Japan remains a critical ally and attention on China intensifies. With the revival of the Quad group (a coalition involving Japan, India, Australia and the U.S.), Secretary of State visits to allies Japan and South Korea, and an opening exchange with China, an ascending Asia now takes on momentous significance.

In order to explore this development, the Crossley Center for Public Opinion Research’s program on Asian foreign policy is now underway. The speakers’ series, sponsored with the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies and the Consulate-General of Japan in Denver, is in its second year of open dialogue between Japanese and American professors on the Japanese-American alliance and issues surrounding the Indo-Pacific region.

Four panel discussions during the next two weeks will highlight major issues taking place in Asian foreign policy. The program begins on Tuesday, March 23rd, with a dialogue on the impact of sports on international politics – including, of course, the Tokyo Olympics. Next, on Wednesday, March 24th, a panel will take up the challenges of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and will specifically focus on China. On Monday, March 29th, speakers will discuss the newly revived Quad concept that includes Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. The program will conclude on Wednesday, March 31st, with a panel on the U.S.-Japan alliance and defense policy.

Sports and International Politics 

The 2020 Olympics and Paralympic games were postponed for the first time in history due to the coronavirus. But, Japan is committed to the games in the summer of 2021. It is a powerful reminder of the importance countries attach to hosting and participating in international sporting events. Join a conversation on value, importance and impact of the Olympics and international sports on foreign policy with U.S. and Japanese experts.

March 23, 2021 on Zoom 
5:00 pm MT 
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific and China 

A free and open Indo-Pacific from the Northern Pacific to India is a diplomatic, economic and national security goal of the U.S., Japan, and their friends and allies around the world. The challenges it faces from China’s broad claims of sovereignty and hostile behavior and aggressive rhetoric witnessed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the South China Sea and elsewhere is the topic of this panel of experts from the Korbel School and Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan.

March 24, 2021 on Zoom 
5:00 pm MT 
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific: The Quad 

Join a conversation with experts from the U.S. and Japan on the potential for a joint strategy and unified actions on important issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Can Japan, the U.S., Australia and India be a defender of the rule of law and democratic values? 

March 29, 2021 on Zoom 
5:00 pm MT 
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U.S. and Japan Alliance and Defense Policy

From the East China Sea to the South China Sea, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, the risk of conflict has increased in recent years. Join a conversation with leading foreign policy experts from Japan and the U.S. on the threats and options for the U.S.-Japan alliance.

March 31, 2021 on Zoom 
5:00 pm MT 
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Tools of the Internet Merged With the Nationalist Right

Twitter was born March 21, 2006 when founder Jack Dorsey sent his first Tweet: “Just setting up my twttr.” Akin to Alexander Graham Bell’s March 10, 1876 call to associate: “Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.” Tweets and retweets now reach hundreds of millions.

Ahead of Twitter by two years was Facebook, founded on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin from their Harvard dorms. It became the foundational platform for social media in the 21st century.

Social media, with its tailored, direct connection to individual users, has become the primary tool for creation of a nationalist movement with content, inspiration and talent from the late radio jock Rush Limbaugh (becoming national July 1988, a year after the Fairness Doctrine was repealed and between the two national presidential nominating conventions) and Fox News as it became the right side of cable news launched on October 7, 1996 with Roger Ailes, conservative political consultant, as CEO.