OODA

There's a concept that comes out of the military called OODA. SearchCIO defines it this way:

The OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) is a four-step approach to decision-making that focuses on filtering available information, putting it in context and quickly making the most appropriate decision while also understanding that changes can be made as more data becomes available.

When an adversary gets "inside your OODA loop," it means that he's doing OODA faster than you are and therefore, has a decided advantage.

Observing the subtle changes in campaigning over the past few weeks, I suspect that Donald Trump is inside the Democrat OODA loop—at least where discussions of COVID-19 are concerned. Let me explain.

Dem candidates want to avoid their hard-left platform at all cost, so they've observed the virus, oriented their entire campaign to blame Trump for it, decided to make it the centerpiece of their efforts, and acted by launching a combination of ads, social media content and stump speeches to to make it happen. Joe Biden has characterized a progression of the virus that will lead to a "dark winter." The Dems' myriad trained hamsters in the media are gleefully reporting increases in COVID-19 "cases" and the (virtually non-existent) threat that hospitals will become overwhelmed. Their intent has been and continues to be sowing fear, uncertainty and doubt among voters who will then opt for Biden's "Plan" for conquering COVID-19 and label trump responsible for 230,000 deaths. It's dark stuff, but the dems think it will work.

Trump—on the other hand—has observed that a majority of Americans have begun to suffer from pandemic fatigue—sick of the lockdowns; authoritarian mandates demanding mask wearing compliance in places where such things defy common sense; the dark drumbeat of "case" reports, and the implication that we all have to hide in our basements until we get the virus "under control." Trump has oriented his message to be optimistic, to plug into the feeling that we must move on as a country, accept the inevitability of the virus, and live our lives. He has decided to play on that, promising no lockdown and better therapeutics and vaccines going forward. And he's acted by launching a combination of ads, social media content, and stump speeches to bolster that decision.

The Dem's, whether they realize it or not, are projecting pessimism and fear. That works with their cadres of catastrophists (who never would have voted for Trump no matter what). But it's distasteful for the many, many Americans who are not gripped by hysteria, who need businesses and society to remain open, and who view nonsensical health mandates with suspicion. That's why Trump's message just might work ... he's inside the Dems' OODA loop, and that bad news for his adversaries.