Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Harvard professor who served under presidents of both political parties, observed in the early 1980s that “Republicans are the party of ideas.” That’s now ancient history. Conducting a national party convention with no platform while nominating a sitting president with no announced agenda for a second term, the Republican Party is going to wing this one on the back of President Trump. Whatever he thinks or tweets on a given day is now what they stand for.

For his part, Trump has apparently decided that his best chance to win is to enlist the nation in a war. Unfortunately, it is not a war against what people perceive to be their biggest enemies: a pandemic, racial injustice, or an economic recession.