Hello hello,

Well, absent showy antics from Joe Manchin and Trumpland respectively, the top news story of the day is Ukraine, on which the following major developments have ensued:

One broader point most Americans probably haven’t thought much about is made by Gideon Rachman in his Financial Times column (subscription only): that Western Europe is unusually divided within itself these days, its member nations in a uniquely insular frame of mind. He observes that “most of the big countries in western Europe are currently in the midst of destabilising political transitions—which make them even less prepared than usual for a confrontation with Russia.” He even (half-) jokes that a war in Ukraine may be the only thing that can save Boris Johnson’s skin.

Politico leads with a big story about Kamala Harris’s troubles. It quotes a few allies as tacitly acknowledging that she’s had a pretty rocky time of it and that her political instincts haven’t always been sharp. What’s most interesting here, though, is what this article leaves unsaid, which is this: If Joe Biden proves unable to run in 2024, is Harris necessarily the unchallenged heir apparent to the Democratic nomination? That question is considered impolite right now, but rest assured, after the midterms, or maybe before depending on events, it will have its day in the sun. My take: Biden running in ’24 will depend on (1) some kind of rebound, at least to the high 40s and (2) his being able to persuade Americans that he’s up to it; if he can’t manage both of those, he may well be convinced to step aside. Harris will certainly be challenged by others but will have a pretty big head start.

There isn’t a ton of other news that’s especially pressing. Certain Hill Democrats vow that the fights for voting rights and Build Back Better go on (the latter believable, the former less so). Nancy Pelosi announced she’ll run for her seat again, but that has no bearing necessarily on whether she’ll run for Speaker again, which is a different thing. 

Disney is making a live-action version of Snow White? Isn’t that kind of … weird? Peter Dinklage, the actor best known (to me, anyway) as one of Liz Lemon’s boyfriends on 30 Rock, called it a “backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave.” Disney, in pitch-perfect corporate speak, replied: “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.” I dunno. Seems to me there are a lot of other stories out there. 

At NewRepublic.com, Casey Michel burrows into the history behind the FBI’s bombshell raid of Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar’s Texas home last week; Grace Segers explains why reforming the Electoral Count Act of 1887 is suddenly so popular with even many Republicans; and Alex Shephard analyzes Spotify’s Faustian bargain with Joe Rogan and Neil Young’s righteous stand against it. Shephard doesn’t see Young as having all that much leverage on his own, alas, but argues that support for Young’s him-or-me position “could expand if other popular musicians join him on the grounds that the platform has essentially used their work to subsidize vaccine denialism while handing out relative pittances to the artists that put Spotify on the map.”

Thanks for reading,

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Yesterday’s politics questions: Exactly how many votes did Donald Trump tell Brad Raffensperger he needed to find so that Trump would win Georgia? Also, who besides Trump and Raffensperger was on that phone call? One person was a Trump aide; the other was a longtime vast right-wing conspiracist whose name, God willing, will soon be more widely known in this country.

 

Answers: It was 11,780 votes. Never forget it! Also on the call: former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and vast right-wing conspiracy legal provocateur Cleta Mitchell.

 

Today’s political geography question: Working around clockwise from the bottom left, which countries border Ukraine, anyway? Hint: There are seven! Plus one body of water; what is it?