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Throughout its 208-year history, The New England Journal of Medicine has remained staunchly nonpartisan. The world’s most prestigious medical journal has never supported or condemned a political candidate. Until now. In an editorial signed by 34 editors who are United States citizens (one editor is not) and published on Wednesday, the journal said the Trump administration had responded so poorly to the coronavirus pandemic that they “have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.” The journal did not explicitly endorse Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee, but that was the only possible inference, other scientists noted. (Kolata, 10/7)

According to Dr. Eric Rubin, editor-in-chief of the medical journal, the blistering editorial is one of only four in the publication’s history that has been signed by all editors. The journal did not explicitly endorse Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The journal's editors joined those at the Scientific American by breaking precedent and wading into politics. The Scientific American earlier announced its endorsement of Biden, the first time the magazine has endorsed a presidential candidate in its history. (Behrmann, 10/7)

Anyone else who recklessly squandered lives and money in this way would be suffering legal consequences. Our leaders have largely claimed immunity for their actions. But this election gives us the power to render judgment. Reasonable people will certainly disagree about the many political positions taken by candidates. But truth is neither liberal nor conservative. When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent. We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs. (10/8)