Super Tuesday

   Primary elections in 14 states -- including the territory of American  Samoa -- a spreading corona virus, a stock market trying to recover from a near collapse, and the Federal Reserve Board slashing a key interest rate by half a point.
   All combined to make for a super news day. Not that the news is super as in good, but super as in above normal. As if there ever is a "normal" news day, because if it's normal it isn't news.
   The day began with an announcement by the Fed that it was cutting its target interest rate to a range of 1 to 1.5 percent. That statement came just as the Wall Street stock market was about to open. It was immediately followed by a tweet from the president that the rate cut was not enough, that it should be cut to zero or less.
   Whether the fiercely independent Fed will listen to what the president says is another issue, of course, but the idea of paying people to borrow money seems highly unlikely. And that's what a negative interest rate is. Or, as Henny Youngman might say, "Take my money. Please."
   The cause of the Fed's action was on the surface a reaction to the spreading corona virus, which is near pandemic level worldwide, and as tourist and trade relations retract because of fear of contracting the disease, business suffers and drags down the economy. But it can equally be said that the economy is ready for a correction anyway, and the virus is just the final straw that outweighs the growth potential.
   Whatever the Fed's intention, the stock market did not pay too much attention. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell again, by 786 points.
   While the U.S. economy has been doing well -- the growth rate of total output was 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to government statistics -- other national economies are not. Add to that a near collapse of travel and business contact because of virus fears, and there is the potential of a major problem. That's why the Fed stepped in.
   The crowded field of Democrats hoping to become president winnowed in the past few days, with former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leading the pack in primary elections.
   But the day's voting saw Biden pull sharply ahead of the others, and Mike Bloomberg dropped out, endorsing Biden on the way.
   The president, meanwhile, has been actively campaigning, even though his renomination is virtually assured. Popular opposition, however, is growing stronger, with posting on public web sites becoming increasingly virulent in their name-calling, stressing his lack of knowledge -- not to say ignorance -- of important current events. The latest example is his comment that the flu vaccine is helpful in combating the corona virus.