Davids Ignatius: “The president’s congenital centrism is easy to criticize, especially in this era of hard, polarizing views. He’s a conciliator, a dealmaker who likes to say yes and has trouble saying no. He’s also risk-averse, and he avoids escalation when facing potential catastrophe, whether it’s war with Russia or a budget default.”
“But Biden’s critics miss the glaringly obvious fact that he is behaving precisely as he said he would.”
Save to FavoritesTransportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that flight cancellations across the U.S. could rise to 15%—or even 20%—if the government shutdown continues, the Wall Street Journal reports. Said Duffy: “If this…
Derek Thompson: “On the surface, Mamdani, Spanberger, and Sherrill emerged victorious in three very different campaigns. Mamdani defeated an older Democrat in an ocean-blue metropolis. In Virginia, Spanberger crushed a…
Andrew Sullivan: “There was something perfect about the Supreme Court’s review of President Trump’s tariff spree the week Dick Cheney passed away. What the court was weighing, after all, was…
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune said senators could begin voting as soon as Friday on a package of FY2026 spending bills and a stopgap funding measure that would reopen the…
Sen. Ted Cruz blasted fellow Republicans for failing to criticize Tucker Carlson, saying the conservative pundit has “spread a poison that is profoundly dangerous,” Politico reports. Said Cruz: “My colleagues,…
“A year ago, the Labor Department’s social media messaging focused heavily on portraying a diverse assortment of employees and laborers, both in gender and race,” the Washington Post reports. “But…
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired or sidelined at least two dozen generals and admirals over the past nine months in a series of ousters that could reshape the U.S….
“Pressure from the White House to speed up the pace of deportations has spawned infighting at the Department of Homeland Security over which tactics to use to remove more people…
“Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration on Friday that will restore hundreds of millions in federal funding to the university,” the New York Times reports. Save to…
Out next week: Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic by Volker Ullrich. “Democracies are fragile. Freedoms that seem secure can be lost. Few historical events illustrate this as vividly…
“Worries over the government shutdown surged in the early part of November, pushing consumer sentiment to its lowest in more than three years and just off its worst level ever,”…
“The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to issue an emergency block on a judge’s order that it pay 42 million Americans their full SNAP benefits for November by…
“A growing number of Senate Republicans are indicating they’re open to a deal on extending the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies,” Axios reports. “A clear path forward on the ACA…
“When Gavin Newsom needed to hype his redistricting ballot measure, he did it not through MSNBC hits, but livestreamed sit-downs with Substack sensation Heather Cox Richardson, YouTube star Brian Tyler…
Susan Glasser: “Was this the week that America finally started clapping back at Donald Trump? Actions trigger reactions; we all know that. Yet, remarkably, Trump has spent the first nine…
New York Times: “With the federal government still shut down, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its scheduled monthly jobs report on Friday, the second missed report in…
“As President Trump’s federal agents conduct large immigration raids in Democratic cities, New York City has watched with apprehension, wondering when the president might set his sights on his hometown,”…
G. Elliot Morris: “It is clear now that claims of a fundamental realignment of American politics have been highly exaggerated. The 2024 election is best seen as an anti-incumbent election…
Steve Bannon told a conservative group he will be “going to prison” if Democrats win the midterms and 2028 elections, Mediaite reports. Save to Favorites
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.