The following will not take a break for summer:
Putin’s war of aggression; inflation; the emotions and planning unleashed by the Supreme Court over abortion; the pandemic; the jockeying for the midterms; Tom Cotton’s mind; baseball; the Hunter Biden investigation; Liz Cheney; the hospitality sector’s fight for survival; supply chain woes; Wide World of News; Wordle.
The following will take a break for summer:
Congress; Joe Biden.
With all that in mind, there are a lot of important decisions to be made in May/June by a lot of busy people.
Let’s look at a few, after this short commercial break.
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And now back to today’s episode of Wide World of News: “Decision Points.”
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Mitch McConnell:
How does he thread the needle on the right tone for the nation, the party, and the pro-life movement, to keep the base energized, the Democrats on as much defense as possible, and the party from losing winnable Senate seats because of abortion?
Essential reading:
Nancy Pelosi:
How does she get the China competitiveness bill through the conference committee with the Senate, balancing the need to cave to the White House and Chuck Schumer with the fierce loyalty she shows her caucus?
Essential reading: None yet.
Chuck Schumer:
How does he sequence and sculpt votes on abortion, COVID relief, and Ukraine aid to actually pass stuff?
Essential reading: “Congress Set to Clash on Abortion Following Draft Opinion on Roe v. Wade: Lawmakers returning this week are also expected to pursue more funding to support Ukraine and additional Covid-19 spending” (Wall Street Journal)
Joe Biden:
How and when should he speak about abortion rights in a robust manner (when he is apparently at least somewhat personally uncomfortable with the matter), while still “owning” inflation (on which he has scheduled a major speech for Tuesday, despite it being a matter about which he is at least somewhat professionally uncomfortable). (So far, Mr. Biden is handling this — a/k/a not handling this — the way George H.W. Bush would have done, rather than the way all of his more immediate predecessors would have aggressively dealt with it.)
Essential reading: “President Biden is preparing a major speech Tuesday to address inflation, and will contrast his plans to lower costs for American families with those offered by congressional Republicans, an administration official told Axios.”
Kamala Harris:
How and when does she find a way to redefine her role as vice president and the future leader of the Democratic Party – and is now the moment to do that?
Essential reading: None yet.
Donald Trump:
How does he choose between tactics and strategy to shape the interpretation of the upcoming run of primaries in which he has endorsed – or does he try?
Essential reading: “Trump, emboldened after Ohio victory, faces challenges ahead” (Associated Press)
Bennie Thompson:
How does he work behind the scenes in advance of the public 1/6 committee hearings to ensure that he has under promised (so he can over perform) rather than vice versa.
Essential reading: “Investigation of Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Enters New Phase” (Wall Street Journal)
Laura Bush:
How does she decide whether to use her political capital on abortion rights?
Essential reading: None yet.
Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick:
How do they decide whether to use vinegar or honey to stop Kathy Barnette from winning Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary? (And if you don’t think she can triumph here, you don’t know enough about the state of the Republican Party, the impact of negative ads in a multicandidate field, or Kathy Barnette).
Essential reading:
Ron Klain:
How does he make peace with Speaker Pelosi – assuming that is still possible?
Xi Jinping:
How does he decide about Taiwan?
Essential reading:
Volodymyr Zelensky
How should he pick the next Western journalist to interview him?
Vladimir Putin:
How should he pick the next Western journalist to interview him?
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The readers of this newsletter are an incredible group of people, with an appreciation for America and the complexities of life.
I get a lot of emails that are worthy of publication, but/and some so move me that I feel I should share them.
Here is one, that came in a few days after the Supreme Court leak, which I publish in full, with permission from the sender:
I am struggling. I am 65, white, female and an independent my entire life. I'm a moderate, a centrist. I live in Carmel, IN. I understand what people mean when they talk about Red and Blue lands, but I thought that was exaggerated because I live in a Red state (although in an affluent suburb). The Republicans (ok, mostly my family because I don't talk about politics with friends) I know are "old-school” Lugar-type Republicans, business oriented, small government. They may have voted for Trump because they can't bring themselves to vote for a Democrat, but they aren't fans of Trump. And many of them are upset by Jan 6. No one believes the big lie. etc.
While both my husband and I grew up here, we worked for large multinational companies such as IBM, Oracle, Microsoft and Accenture. We also lived in Cincinnati, Boston, New York, Darien, CT, Roswell ,GA, Lake Oswego, OR and Marin County. We never saw much of a difference in how we lived in each state, other than how much and how we paid taxes (income, property, sales), if I could pump my own gas, and when liquor stores were open. It seems like that won't be true anymore and it will matter where you live.
My father came to the US from post-war Germany as a grad student. He started a travel business, married my mother and became a US citizen in December, 1960. He traveled around Indiana giving his "You crazy American" speech in church basements for Rotary clubs and Garden Clubs. His father was a mayor ( Catholic Center Party) in the Black Forest, and in 1933, the Nazis trumped up some charge and arrested my grandfather and replace someone else as mayor. The chief of police had worked for my grandfather and was able to keep him in the local jail for most of the war. My dad lost his oldest brother who was drafted and died in a Russian POW camp (in what is now the Donbas region). His other brother was a medic, first in North Africa and then in Prague. When the war was over, Russia kept him as a prisoner of war as they needed doctors and my uncle wasn't released until 1953. So this is the world my father grew up in and why he loved America and its freedoms. He said Americans always think things should be fair. He would get mad at the French for not appreciating what the US did.
Was his view of America, that I inherited, wrong?
I am feeling increasingly alienated from my own country. Was I naive, sheltered in my privileged bubble? Has America always been like this or is "this" something newer? I thought most Americans are moderate, maybe lean a little right or lean a little left. So why do I now feel so out of sync? I believe Biden won. I don't think Biden is a super hero, but I think he's OK, perhaps ineffective, but certainly not a radical. ( I don't think presidents ever really do much.) I think Trump had a real opportunity in early 2017 and he blew it. I think we each have the right to live our lives as we each see fit unless it directly hurts someone else - and if it hurts someone else then we turn to the law. We accept America is huge land with all kinds of peoples and each can live their lives, practice their religion, as they want. There's room for everyone. And while fewer laws are better, some are needed to guard freedoms, including some regulations around capitalism.
This leaked draft hit me in the gut. Who are we?
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U2 is a planetary phenomenon:
This is one of the most compelling bits of sports video you will see this year:
