WHAT: A STATE OF THE UNION BRIEFING WITH ME AND JOHN ELLIS
WHEN: THIS TUESDAY, 6PM ET ON ZOOM
WHY: BECAUSE WE WILL BE TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS AND SHARING OUR ANALYSIS
HOW: SIGN UP HERE
*****
…is for BIDEN
Yes, he ordered the balloon shot down, but the questions remain, including:
1. Why was a spy craft allowed to enter and stay in U.S. airspace for so long?
2. Would the threat ever have been revealed if the balloon hadn’t been spotted?
3.
4. Even after reading David Ignatius’ “authoritative” Pentagon readout about what this was about, there is still no squaring some key circles, such as: The U.S. intel/defense world says the balloon was not any greater threat than satellites but also says balloons take better pictures (and the U.S. still seems unsure about the full capabilities of this craft).
5. Remember when the president was furious with the Saudis over oil a few months ago? There were no apparent consequences. Will the Chinese pay an actual price here, especially/also after the Wall Street Journal reports they are helping the Russians?
I don’t get the analysis/spin that says this is some big loss for China (even if the U.S. recovers and analyzes the balloon); to me, it highlights, yet again, the lack of American leverage over Xi.
****
…..is for ANTAGONISTIC
Americans should be all for holding the executive branch accountable, even (especially) during kinetic action situations, but the bipartisan practice of reflexively publicly mocking and denigrating the commander-in-chief of the other party during a national security crisis with no grace, no rally-around-the-flag, and no projection of national unity is one of the worst manifestations of the Freak Show. How about standing together for the weekend against Xi?
****
….is for LOUSY
The new Washington Post poll has familiar but still stunning numbers, showing how widespread the view is that Americans don’t want a Biden or Trump candidacy (let alone a rematch of ’20) – oh, and this is another poll with Trump ahead of Biden:
President Biden and former president Donald Trump may have each drawn a record number of votes in 2020, but at this early stage in the 2024 election cycle, Americans show little enthusiasm for a rematch between the two well-known yet unpopular leaders, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Neither Biden nor Trump generate broad excitement within their own party, and most Americans overall say they would feel dissatisfied or angry if either wins the general election.
Biden, who has said he intends to seek reelection, has no current opposition for the Democratic nomination. Trump is likely to face at least several challengers in his bid to lead his party for a third consecutive election.
Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, the Post-ABC poll finds 58 percent say they would prefer someone other than Biden as their nominee in 2024 — almost double the 31 percent who support Biden. That is statistically unchanged since last September.
Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 49 percent say they prefer someone other than Trump as their nominee in 2024, compared with 44 percent who favor the former president. That too is statistically unchanged from last September.
More than 6 in 10 Americans (62 percent) say they would be “dissatisfied” or “angry” if Biden were reelected in 2024, while 56 percent say the same about the prospect of Trump returning to the White House for a second time.
Slightly more than one-third (36 percent) say they would be “enthusiastic” or “satisfied but not enthusiastic” if Biden were reelected while 43 percent say the same about a possible Trump victory in 2024. But negative sentiment is also notable. More than one-third (36 percent) say they would be angry if Trump wins while 30 percent say that about a Biden victory. Fewer than 2 in 10 are enthusiastic about Trump (17 percent), and just 7 percent are enthusiastic about Biden.
In a hypothetical matchup between Biden and Trump, 48 percent of registered voters today say they would favor Trump to 45 percent who say Biden, a gap within the poll’s margin of error. About 9 in 10 Democrats back Biden and about the same share of Republicans back Trump. Among independents, 50 percent favor Trump to 41 percent for Biden….
Financially, more Americans say they are not as well off since Biden became president than those who say they are better off (41 percent to 16 percent). Another 42 percent say their financial situation is about the same under Biden as it was before he was sworn in. The percent who say they are not as well off has increased slightly over the past year as people have dealt with rising prices and is now at the highest level since Post-ABC polling first asked the question in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan.
The New York Times reports the Koch political network is thinking of backing someone to beat Trump in the nomination fight. Good luck with that (for all sorts of reasons).
****
….is for LAUGHS
****
….is for OPEN
The timely start of “Saturday Night Live” about the balloon was, in fact, funny:
****
…is for OH MY
*****
….is for New Hampshire
If you think Saturday was the last word in setting the “new” DNC nominating calendar, think again. The Granite State has not given up. Also, if Joe Biden really runs unopposed for the nod, the 2024 calendar is as meaningful as George Santos’ reelection campaign staffing. (A Santos joke!)
****
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