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Once upon a time, Republicans were in cities too

October 23, 2020
Bloomberg Opinion Today
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Today's Agenda

Healing the Urban/Exurban Divide 

Rudy Giuliani is best known these days as an extreme right-wing lightning rod, clashing with everybody from the Bidens to Borat in enthusiastic service to President Donald Trump. It's easy to forget that just 20 years ago he was the twice-elected mayor of what many on the right would consider one of the most liberal cities in America.

Giuliani is a living rebuttal of the stereotype that all cities are hellholes of godless Marxism, while the rest of the country fights to Make America Republican Again. New York leaned pretty far left long before it made Giuliani mayor (again, twice), and Giuliani has always been very conservative. Then again, he held office back in the Olden Times of the 1990s, when the two parties coexisted more easily, with both Democrats and Republicans trying out ideas to make cities better, Pete Saunders writes. Far from abandoning Republicans, cities watched as conservatives packed up and fled for the greener pastures of suburbs and farms, fueling the extreme polarization we suffer today. This plan worked politically for a while, but it's backfiring on the GOP now, as the suburbs and farms gradually become more liberal with every election.

Take Idaho. It's still not exactly a swing state. But Matthew Winkler writes the Gem State is slowly turning from ruby red to amethyst purple, as its population booms along with an economy that thrives on trade with Asia. Trump's trade war threatens that growth, raising the question of how much longer Idaho will stick with his GOP. If New York can elect Rudy Giuliani, then anything's possible.

Further Counterintuitive Election Reading: Trump is doing surprisingly well with Black and Latino voters partly because he hasn't been nearly as bad for them as they expected. — Karl Smith 

A Covid Election Deserves Covid Answers

Tonight is the second and final presidential debate of this election, thank goodness. Gloves will be off! Mics will be muted! If the raw video of Trump's interview with Lesley Stahl is any indication, we're in for another cantankerous evening. What would be great, though nobody's holding their breath for it, is if both Trump and Joe Biden could talk about their plans for dealing with the pandemic, writes Bloomberg's editorial board. It's only the biggest issue in this election. Does Trump really just want to let the disease run wild, as all signs indicate? Does Biden have a plan beyond listening to scientists? These are the answers America deserves and is only about 20% likely to get.

Bonus Pandemic Reading: A vaccine can make Covid infections less serious and help prevent reinfection. — Sam Fazeli 

Goldman's Surprising Clawback 

One of the pleasant surprises of this terrible era, and there haven't been many, has been the relative stability of America's financial sector. It went from being the problem of the prior crisis to being part of the solution. Its behavior hasn't always been exemplary: Bankers have dipped into Covid relief money, or tried to; committed $900 million goofs; and run afoul of compliance rules. But their employers have responded pretty aggressively, sometimes surprisingly so.

Which brings us to Goldman Sachs. To some degree, its settlement of the 1MDB scandal — in which some Goldmanites helped raid a Malaysian development fund — follows the depressing script of so many banking scandals. It will pay a manageable fine and take some legal slaps on the wrist. But it will also, Brian Chappatta notes, claw back pay from CEO David Solomon, previous CEO Lloyd Blankfein and others. Is it a lot of pay? Not exactly. But it signals the bank is owning its mistakes and making executives bear some of the brunt. It may have further to go, but, again, it's being part of the solution. 

Further Corporate-Troubles Reading:

Telltale Charts

Chipotle may be sacrificing profits to its expensive online ordering business, but it's paying off in sales and customer loyalty, writes Sarah Halzack.

Further Reading

Vladimir Putin has been disappointed with Trump's presidency, but he still prefers him over Biden. — Clara Ferreira Marques 

The end of the UN arms embargo could mean Iran getting new weaponry from Russia and China. Arab rivals shouldn't respond with an arms race. — Hussein Ibish 

Israel shouldn't turn a cold shoulder to the Armenians. — Zev Chafets 

Bolivia's election doesn't exactly herald the return of socialism. — Mac Margolis 

The U.S. could learn a lot from how China runs its economy. — Noah Smith 

Of course SPAC returns are mediocre. Almost everything is mediocre. It's Sturgeon's Law. — Barry Ritholtz 

ICYMI

We're this close to a stimulus deal.

Ghislaine Maxwell's deposition testimony is now public.

Eric Schmidt calls social networks "amplifiers for idiots."

Kickers

A long-missing Jacob Lawrence painting has been found. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

A rare Shakespeare folio sold for a record $10 million. (h/t Scott Kominers)

A green-furred puppy was born in Sardinia. 

How slow-breathing helps the body.

Note: Please send green puppies and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.

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