“Prediction is difficult, especially about the future,” said Yogi Berra but George Allen said, “The future is now,” but Mark Halperin said, “I never bet on what I cover and I never predict,” and David Letterman said, “This is only an exhibition, not a competition, as always please no wagering."
Anyway, against my better judgement, here, after a brief break, are today’s predictions.
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1. PREDICTION: Nothing meaningful will be done in the wake of the latest spate of shootings to prevent more of them.
2. PREDICTION: NATO is going to make a big push to settle the Ukraine conflict this spring, overcoming President Zelensky’s resistance to seeking a negotiated settlement when the war is going either well or poorly for his side.
3. PREDICTION: President Biden (or a spokesperson on his behalf) will soon admit that “mistakes were made,” as a way station on the route to the president being “forced” to switch to the active voice in acknowledging error (even though some of his lawyers and some of his PR people will oppose such a move).
Per the Wall Street Journal, re the fairly absurd four-corners briefing held by White House spokesperson (and MSNBC regular) Ian Sams:
Among the questions he didn’t or said he couldn’t answer: whether the president will invite investigators to search his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home; whether the FBI or Mr. Biden’s lawyers will review the president’s collection of Senate papers held at the University of Delaware; who is paying Mr. Biden’s personal lawyer; whether the White House has briefed lawmakers on the incident; how many total pages of classified documents have been found and what subjects they cover.
I would add to the list of dodged questions: Whether President Biden was surprised documents with classified markings were found at his residence.
BONUS SPIDEYSENSE PREDICTION: At least two additional Bob Lanier-size shoes are going to drop on this matter before too long.
4. PREDICTION: Although Republican Senators are trying to stay out of the debt ceiling fracas now and let the White House and Speaker McCarthy sort things out, the smoothest path to an eventual deal will involve the heavy thumb of Mitch McConnell on a series of interlocking scales.
5. PREDICTION: This development will not lead to revolution because of who uses cash now.
6. PREDICTION: If you don’t already think Randy Rainbow is a genius, you will shortly.
7. PREDICTION: A Republican you are sure is going to run for president in 2024 is going to take a surprising pass on entering the fray.