TOKYO – Greetings from a newly reopened Japan, where tourists are being allowed back in on a limited basis and I’ve stood up the latest Wide World of News bureau at the fabled Okura Tokyo hotel, just across the street from the U.S. ambassador’s residence.
Writing the newsletter from here is a snap, given the time difference.
First, the Japanese love quizzes and polls, so here is one for you take!
Click here to vote:
I spent my late lunch at Nobu reading through all the American news, planning to write some great big set piece, like a memo from Pete Buttigieg to himself, or what you should say to that loudmouth on Zoom, or a list of the Gang of 500 Top Ten Summer Vacation Spots (only four of which are in the Hamptons).
But, sadly, there is actually relatively little news out there – or back there.
So although yesterday was a Ron Klain “memo” edition (Imagine having to explain that one to my Japanese hosts!), I have to go back to the Biden well, because it is Biden stuff that caught my eye.
First, in the grand tradition of Japanese game shows, here’s an ad!!!!
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Now back to content!!
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I know it is sort of summer and presidents can work from wherever they are, but today is Thursday not Friday:
In the evening, the President will travel to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where they will remain over the weekend.
It is hard to imagine that Wednesday’s infant formula event at the White House went off as planned or desired by Team Biden.
For one thing, it put the press focus on this:
[D]ata from companies that track the supply of consumer goods suggest that the president’s efforts have not significantly changed the situation for parents.
Seventy percent of formula products nationwide were listed as out-of-stock for the week ending May 21, according to the retail software company Datasembly. That is an increase from 45 percent for the week that ended May 8, and 31 percent earlier, in April.
According to Datasembly, almost 75 percent of the baby formula supply is out of stock in Atlanta; 80 percent in Des Moines; and 90 percent in Houston. Consumers are having better luck in Indianapolis, where only 48 percent of formula is listed as out of stock, and Chicago, where the figure is only 57 percent.
A spokeswoman for Datasembly said that its analysis shows that “out-of-stock percentage for baby formula continues to worsen.”
Amazon’s website offers very little baby formula currently available for purchase, while the price of formula being offered by private sellers on sites like eBay has skyrocketed. (New York Times)
For another thing, I know Joe Biden says what he means and means what he says, but was he really meant to say this?
President Biden said Wednesday that he did not become aware of the baby formula shortage until about two months after industry leaders knew they faced a major crisis, raising new questions about the administration’s monitoring and handling of the problem.
Biden’s comments came after he met with executives of companies that manufacture infant formula, who told the president they knew the shortage would be severe in February after the closure of an Abbott plant in Michigan. Biden suggested he was not informed until April.
“I don’t think anyone anticipated the impact of the shutdown of one facility,” Biden said after the meeting, adding, “Once we learned the extent of it and how broad it was, it kicked everything into gear.”
But when reporters noted that the executives had said they immediately recognized the scope of the problem, Biden said, “They did, but I didn’t….”
It was unclear from the discussion whether the responsibility lay primarily with the industry, for not alerting federal officials of the imminent shortage; or with federal agencies that monitor the industry for not sufficiently conveying the problems to the White House; or with the White House itself, for not reacting faster to the crisis. (Washington Post)
Also, was he also meant to say this?
President Biden warned there was little the administration can do in the short term to lower high energy and food prices as the White House struggles to contain the fallout of sky-high inflation.
Soaring prices have become a major liability for the president and Democratic Party as they seek to bolster their standing with voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
“There’s a lot going on right now, but the idea we’re going to be able to, you know, click a switch, bring down the cost of gasoline, is not likely in the near term, nor is it with regard to food,” Mr. Biden said Wednesday. (Wall Street Journal)
Also, also, a Democratic president getting four Pinocchios from the Washington Post fact checkers is not easy, but to win the accolade with a statement made in a vetted op-ed piece??!!
There’s something about that!
“A dozen CEOs of America’s largest utility companies told me earlier this year that my plan would reduce the average family’s annual utility bills by $500 and accelerate our transition from energy produced by autocrats.”
— President Biden, in an opinion article titled “My Plan for Fighting Inflation,” published in the Wall Street Journal, May 30
As we say in Kamakura: Lots to think about at Rehoboth Beach this weekend.
Oh, and I’m not really in Japan!
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ESSENTIAL READING
1. Alan Blinder on the WSJ op-ed page regarding inflation:
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues would love to unclog supply chains, alleviate food shortages, and lower oil prices, but they can’t do any of those things. What they can do is raise short-term interest rates. That will help, but don’t expect miracles.
2. The New York Times best-in-class David Sanger and William Broad on the nuclear weapons world remade.
3. The Associated Press on what would be an incredible journey:
President Joe Biden is leaning towards making a visit to Saudi Arabia — a trip that would likely bring him face-to-face with the Saudi crown prince he once shunned as a killer.
The White House is weighing a visit to Saudi Arabia that would also include a meeting of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) as well as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, according to a person familiar with White House planning.