- The Democratic field was still crowded with candidates, though Joe Biden was on top of most primary polls;

- There were no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US;

- 106,000 more Americans were alive;

- George Floyd was alive;

- There was no rioting in American streets;

- There was no talk of deploying the military to US cities.

Can Joe Biden be the anti-Trump?

Standing in a presidential-looking suit (not casual campaign clothes) and in front of presidential-looking flags, Biden set himself up as the anti-Trump.

"I won't traffic in fear and division. I won't fan the flames of hate. I'll seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country, not use them for political gain. I'll do my job and I'll take responsibility -- I won't blame others," Biden said.

Biden made explicit his differences in approach from Trump, who on Monday urged governors to "dominate" protesters, and bragged on Twitter Tuesday morning that "overwhelming force" and "domination" had been on display in the nation's capital.

Biden also challenged Americans: "Look at where we are now and think anew: Is this who we are? Is this who we want to be?"

More from Bradner:

Biden has provided a dramatic contrast with Trump in recent days...

On Monday, as Trump urged governors in a phone call to "dominate" protesters, Biden held a discussion with African American community leaders in Wilmington and a virtual roundtable with the mayors of cities that have seen protests and violence: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Biden also directly addressed Floyd's killing, calling it "a wake-up call for our nation" as he began his speech.

"'I can't breathe. I can't breathe.' George Floyd's last words. But they didn't die with him. They're still being heard. They're echoing across this nation," Biden said.

"They speak to a nation where too often just the color of your skin puts your life at risk. They speak to a nation where more than 100,000 people have lost their lives to a virus and 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment -- with a disproportionate number of these deaths and job losses concentrated in the black and minority communities," Biden said. "And they speak to a nation where every day millions of people -- not at the moment of losing their life -- but in the course of living their life -- are saying to themselves, 'I can't breathe.'"

Yes, white supremacists are posing as "Antifa"

Here are the first two paragraphs:

A Twitter account that tweeted a call to violence and claimed to be representing the position of "Antifa" was in fact created by a known white supremacist group, Twitter said Monday. The company removed the account.

Before it emerged the account was run by white supremacists, Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump's son, pointed his 2.8 million Instagram followers to the account as an example how dangerous Antifa is.

Remember: Verify everything you see online. Trump has said Antifa should be classified as a terrorist organization. White supremacists, who prefer him, are trying to help out.

Don't just vote. Vote local

Former President Barack Obama remains so very quiet on all of this, except for tweets and statements delivered without the power of his voice and image.

But he did write something on Medium Monday that should be mentioned, and it refuted the idea that violence is, in any way, the answer.

The message of the piece was: vote. It's actually a riff on his canned line in speeches. "Don't boo, vote," he'd say. Now it's don't riot, vote. But don't just vote for President:

... the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels.

It's mayors and county executives that appoint most police chiefs and negotiate collective bargaining agreements with police unions. It's district attorneys and state's attorneys that decide whether or not to investigate and ultimately charge those involved in police misconduct. Those are all elected positions. In some places, police review boards with the power to monitor police conduct are elected as well.

Unfortunately, voter turnout in these local races is usually pitifully low, especially among young people — which makes no sense given the direct impact these offices have on social justice issues, not to mention the fact that who wins and who loses those seats is often determined by just a few thousand, or even a few hundred, votes.

One conservative view: There is no bottom. You rarely read about something Barack Obama wrote in the same space as something George Will wrote, but take a look at the old conservative's column in The Washington Post today. It's also about the down ballot and it is a zinger.

Will's been railing about Republicans coalescing around Trump for some time, but these words, which invoke police removing protesters for Trump's photo-op were something:

There is no such thing as rock bottom. So, assume that the worst is yet to come.