In a republic with 50 individual and relatively autonomous states, a federal entity with sufficient powers should be there during a national crisis. Their role should be to orchestrate, prioritize and organize, and to act as a referee or arbiter between states and manufacturers, ensuring that resources are appropriately distributed and that they don't just go to the highest bidder, i.e., the richest states. Is the Task Force ostensibly led by the faceless (if not feckless) Mike Pence little more than a publicity stunt? Perhaps. But I'm grateful for people like Dr. Fauci who are somehow able to thread the needle between Trump's chopping block and the need to educate and reinforce to the public how to deal with this virus.