“We believe we’re now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack on Ukraine. I would say that’s more stark than we have been.”

— White House press secretary Jen Psaki, at her press briefing.

The White House is seeking to “reset” talks on its $1.75 trillion spending bill, aiming to salvage climate change measures but pare down or cut items like the child tax credit and paid family leave to appeal to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) as soon as this week, Reuters reports.

Manchin abruptly halted talks on the spending package before Christmas, citing his concerns over inflation, deficit spending and what he called an attempt to “reshape our society.”

Philip Bump: “A central ideological difference between America’s political left and political right is support for government intervention. That holds within the Democratic caucus as well; moderates like Sinema and Manchin are ideologically less supportive of spending than, say, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Despite predictions that the Democratic caucus in the House would be held hostage by the whims of its left-wing, it was the moderate right that tripped up progress on Biden’s agenda last year.”

“A Republican president can shrug at a policy agenda, particularly in a world where culture-war fights have so much focus. For a Democrat, being pushed to leverage governmental power, the playing field is different. And, particularly at the moment, it’s a playing field that advantages inaction over action.”

Jonathan Bernstein: “The most important thing to remember is that while presidents are surely the single most important players in the U.S. political system, that’s all they are — single players. Even the most successful and influential presidents have limits on what they can do to influence Congress, their party, the courts, the bureaucracy, interest groups, state and local governments, private businesses, foreign governments and more. Evaluations that ignore the context that presidents work in, including the constraints they face, are useless…”

“A second caution is to be sure that any evaluation is clear about the differences between the president, the presidency and the larger political system. Former President Donald Trump was an extreme case of a leader who often received credit or blame for actions taken by executive branch actors that he had little or nothing to do with.”

The Economist: “What better way to chase one humiliating setback and waste of political capital than with another? That seems to be the outcome of President Joe Biden’s latest political strategy as he smarts from the failure of his signature climate-change and social-policy bill last month. In the new year, the White House and Democratic leaders in Congress have pivoted to campaigning for a voting-rights package which stands no chance of passing.”

“As a matter of politics, it might seem underwhelming. But at the level of policy, too, the legislation, which Democrats describe as essential to prevent democratic catastrophe, is not narrowly tailored to meet the actual threats to the republic.”