* Old normal: It was nice to have gotten through a Russian summit where the Russian president was not the obvious handler of the American president. And no need to reference “The Manchurian Candidate” or “Golden Showers.”
* “We can’t turn back the clock. We not only lost four years, we emboldened Putin. We gave him a green light.”–That was Hillary Clinton, who might still be president had it not been for Cyber Czar Vladimir Putin.
* It’s back. Yes, it’s another awkward—and embarrassing—U.N. General Assembly vote condemning–almost unanimously–the U.S. embargo on Cuba, now the longest-lasting trade embargo in modern history. Will the Biden Administration do the right thing for myriad right reasons and pivot away from this counterproductive policy? Will it, not unlike the Obama Administration, abstain with its vote? Or will the “anti-socialist” South Florida politics and demographics induce a continuation of the status quo? All the while, the embargo has continued to exacerbate every hardship on the Cuban people (including healthcare), who deserve a better government as well as a better neighbor.
* “After the extraordinarily hard times that ordinary Americans endured in 2020 … he is simply not going to allow Congress to raise taxes on those who suffered the most.”–White House spokesman Andrew Bates, reiterating President Biden’s opposition to indexing the gasoline tax to inflation to help pay for an infrastructure plan.
* For the third time the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act. But it’s not nearly enough for many Democrats, especially progressives who want American health care totally nationalized. Sen. Bernie Sanders, for example, is pushing to lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60 and expand the range of services covered by the entitlement. That would not be Biden’s position right now.
* Not that President Biden doesn’t have enough polarizing challenges. Now there’s religion. As a practicing Catholic, Biden opposes abortion, but does not think he should impose that position on Americans who feel otherwise. That didn’t go over well at the recent U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Its reaction was seen as a rebuke to a Catholic president for receiving Communion despite supporting abortion rights. It’s a reminder that an issue we hoped was behind us after Catholic President John F. Kennedy had gone to Houston in 1960 to confront Protestant critics and successfully underscore his belief that in America the “separation of church and state is absolute.” It still is, but polarization–including within parties–is practiced religiously.
* Lina Khan, a favorite of progressive antitrust advocates, has been confirmed by the Senate and has joined the Federal Trade Commission, becoming the five-member board’s third Democrat. It ups the chances of a new era of more assertive antitrust enforcement, especially when both sides of the aisle are concerned about how the tech giants do business.
* “Kamala Harris, like Barack Obama, is not trying to be a major leader on racial policy issues; she is trying to appeal to the masses and eventually become president.”–Perry Bacon, Jr., WaPo.