JOE BIDEN

Summary: What we saw in the Biden speech and the White House statement is another attempt to fool the public into believing that the failed policies of the past can be made to succeed if the president repeatedly declares his faith in them.

Summary: But the smears? Consider this a bit of media literacy education: Presidents have to be in public constantly, and their every move and word and facial expression is recorded, and that means that there’s more than enough fodder to “prove” almost any narrative to sympathetic audiences predisposed to believe the worst. With Biden, it’s cognitive impairment; with George W. Bush, it was stupidity; with Bill Clinton, it was deviousness. Don’t fall for it.

Summary: There’s no easy way for presidents to spin bad economic news other than to make clear that there is a bright side — such as Biden’s reminder Thursday that unemployment rates haven’t been this low since 1970 — and to remind the public that presidents in free-market economies have minimal powers to halt inflation or force economic growth. But a one-term presidency and midterm pain awaits any leader who tries to shrug off these factors or ignore the strains faced by American consumers (and voters).

Summary: Biden's foreign policy has been far from perfect. His withdrawal from Afghanistan, to take only the most painful example, was a fiasco. ... But in Ukraine, at least, the president's experience and instincts have served him well.

Biden will travel to Minneapolis for the event at the University of Minnesota. The president has described Mondale as a “dear friend and mentor” and “one of our nation’s most dedicated patriots and public servants.”

An editorial cartoon by Tom Stiglich

Summary:

Summary: The experts and diplomats tell us that, for all the evidence of war crimes, identifying and prosecuting the Russians responsible will be difficult. They say Putin most likely will never sit in the dock as Hitler’s henchmen did, even if he’s charged. ... But we know what we’re seeing, and naming and shaming is not nothing. Let Biden be Biden.

Summary: Of course, if Congress were serious about addressing gun crimes, it would go much further. It would require completed background checks for all gun purchases with no excuses or loopholes. It would strengthen oversight of gun dealers. It would crack down on gun traffickers and straw purchases and prohibit assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. In lieu of such legislation, there’s only so much any administration can do.