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Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist and lead pollster for Biden in the 2020 presidential election, said she thinks the move by governors is a gamble. If cases rise, they might have to go back to the public to ask for restrictions to be imposed again.

Also, she notes, overall polling in the country still suggests strong support among Americans for masks in schools, with moms and women in particular erring on the side of caution. So Biden will have to take into account that majority of voters when addressing the nation, even if they aren’t as vocal, she said.

\"People are looking for certainty. They're looking for consistent leadership. They're looking for clear criteria. And yes, they express short term frustration and fatigue. But steady leadership is going to beat (going) up and down and going back and forth,\" she said.

Stryker said he still thinks the goal -- at least from a political standpoint -- is to move away from talking about the pandemic as much as Democrats are.

\"If Democrats can stop talking about COVID every day, treat it like the long-term problem it is and start talking about more immediate concerns of voters\" like the high cost of living, \"the better they will do in the midterms,\" he said.

Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

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