On a day of big news across the globe….
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On a day with a tragic helicopter crash in Ukraine that reportedly killed some top officials and children, David Ignatius has an essential reading column on how the Russians and Ukrainians are looking to break the stalemate in 2023.
ON THE ONE HAND: The media thinks the war will end in 2023.
AT SECOND BLUSH: Does NATO have a plan to end the war in 2023?
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On a day in which the Wall Street Journal has a complex exclusive on some of the early decisions the Department of Justice and FBI made engaging with the Biden document search, and CNN has a (seemingly) simple exclusive about the role Joe Biden’s private attorney, Patrick Moore, played in the early moments of the document search, the Associated Press still has these questions:
Exactly how many documents were found; whether there may be other documents out there, what was contained in them and why the public wasn’t notified until months after they were discovered.
ON THE ONE HAND: Henry Olsen writes that DOJ should not indict Trump or pursue Biden, but/and should do a Comey-style report (as in the Hillary Clinton matter) and let the voters decide.
ON SECOND BLUSH: Letting the voters decide is probably what will and should happen, but going “Comey-style” is every bit as serious and sensible as going "Gangnam-Style” – let’s hope the senior leadership at the Justice Department has more sense than to think it is a good idea to be prosecutor, judge, and jury in writing a report that is informed by no rules of evidence, due process, or political wisdom.
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On a day when the New York Times rounds up all the worry on Wall Street and in other business quarters about a possible debt default…
ON THE ONE HAND: Ask yourself: What is Kevin McCarthy’s clever, thoughtful long-term plan to solve this?
ON SECOND BLUSH: Ask yourself: What is Mitch McConnell’s clever, thoughtful long-term plan to solve this?
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On a day when Politico reports a “secret” effort by Michigan Republican leaders to get Ron DeSantis to run for president, and Donald Trump snaps back at DeSantis, and the Washington Post has an essential reading look at the Florida Topper’s corporate donors, the Associated Press reports this:
Former President Donald Trump will be joined by two high-profile South Carolina supporters — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov. Henry McMaster — at his first public 2024 presidential campaign event in the early voting state later this month.
Trump will be at the Statehouse in Columbia on Jan. 28 and will unveil his South Carolina leadership team, according to a person familiar with the plans….
According to South Carolina government officials, the Trump campaign has blocked off 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. at a variety of sites inside and outside the Statehouse building, planning for “500 attendees.”
ON THE ONE HAND: Psssst, there have been other such efforts by key state key Republicans to encourage DeSantis.
ON SECOND BLUSH: DeSantis might someday regret giving Trump a six-month head start.
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On a day when Jim Banks (MAGA-Indiana) and Matt Dolan (Establishment-OH) entered their respective 2024 Senate contests….
ON THE ONE HAND: Recruitment is everything.
ON SECOND BLUSH: Outside group funding for TV ads in Republican primaries is everything.
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On a day when most morning tip sheets are obsessed with Davos, and Elon Musk’s claim to have been invited is being challenged….
ON THE ONE HAND: There is both so much and nothing to say about Davos.
ON SECOND BLUSH: Jill Abramson has it nailed:
