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Nikki Haley Is the Perfect GOP Candidate (for 2015)

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Sarah Longwell: “On paper, Nikki Haley should be a top-tier contender in the 2024 Republican primary. She’s a successful former governor from an important, early primary state. She has an impressive personal backstory, solid foreign policy chops, and great candidate skills, too. This used to be an extremely attractive package for GOP primary voters.”

“Used to be. But not anymore.”

“Instead, Haley’s candidacy represents the best of the “meh” middle tier of 2024 candidates, which for now includes the likely notional campaigns of Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, and Chris Christie. No one is really asking any of those guys to run. But they don’t have anything better to do. So they’ll eventually put exploratory committees together and take a joy ride that may or may not make it to Iowa.”

“And Haley, despite how good she is on paper, finds herself in that same tier: No one is asking for what she’s selling. Why is that?”

Aaron Blake: Assessing Nikki Haley’s 2024 prospects.

Biden’s National Standing Hasn’t Slipped Since 2020

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Public Policy Polling: “On the heels of a successful State of the Union address last week Joe Biden has some of the best numbers of his Presidency, with almost as many voters (44%) now approving of the job he’s doing as disapprove (47%). Biden leads all of his leading potential Republican opponents for re-election. It’s 47-44 over Ron DeSantis, 49-45 against Donald Trump, 45-39 versus Nikki Haley, and 47-39 matched up with Mike Pence.”

“The 4 point lead over Trump is notably similar to the 2020 outcome between them and speaks to the political climate being in a relatively similar place to where it has been over the last few years. Of course that still means a close race in the key Electoral College states would be likely in a Biden-Trump rematch, but Biden’s standing has not meaningfully slipped relative to 2020.”

“Our poll also finds that Democrats would be better off running Biden again than they would be with any of the best known alternatives to him in the party.”

Biden Poised to Secure Landmark 100th Judge

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“The Democratic-led Senate is poised to confirm President Joe Biden’s 100th federal judge on Tuesday, marking a milestone for the president and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,” NBC News reports.

“The two Democrats have made it a priority to reshape U.S. courts with judges who tend to be younger, liberal and more diverse — both in terms of race and ethnicity, as well as professional experience — than the current bench, a project aided by Democrats expanding their Senate majority in the 2022 midterm election.”

Inflation Rises More Than Expected

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“Inflation turned higher to start 2023, as rising gas and fuel prices took their toll on consumers,” CNBC reports.

“The consumer price index, which measures a broad basket of common goods and services, rose 0.5% for the month, which translated to an annual gain of 6.4%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective increases of 0.4% and 6.2%.”

Indian Government Raids BBC Offices

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“Indian tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices and seized its journalists’ phones in a stunning — and apparently retaliatory — move Tuesday against the British broadcaster weeks after it aired a polarizing documentary examining Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rise and his handling of a deadly 2002 riot,” the Washington Post reports.

Struggle to Get Relief Aid to Turkey and Syria

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“Aid agencies and governments stepped up a scramble Tuesday to send help to parts of Turkey and Syria devastated by an earthquake, but a week after the disaster many complained they still were struggling to meet basic needs, like finding shelter from the bitter cold,” the AP reports.

“The situation was particularly desperate in Syria, where a 12-year civil war has complicated relief efforts and meant days of wrangling over how to even move aid into the country, let alone distribute it.”

The McConnell-Scott Feud Isn’t Ending Anytime Soon

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“The long-running public feud between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) continues to flare regardless of how much fellow Republican senators might wish they would just let it go,” the Washington Post reports.

“It’s a tension that began during the last election cycle when Scott was chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. It escalated when Republicans failed to win back the Senate majority.”

“It has intensified again in recent days as President Biden and Democrats keep bringing up Scott’s year-old 12-point plan to sunset all federal laws every five years unless Congress votes to keep them, to accuse Republicans of wanting to make cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”

Senators Ready for a Briefing Unlike Any Other

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Punchbowl News: “The American public — including lawmakers — knows surprisingly little about these objects aside from the White House’s unequivocal contention that they have nothing to do with aliens.”

“And a Senate that badly wants to conduct oversight of the Biden administration’s handling of these incidents and figure out how to prevent more in the future has been largely paralyzed.”

Said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): “It’s impossible to make an assessment because there’s virtually no information available beyond what you’ve already seen publicly reported. And it’s just not a sustainable position. I will tell you, this is not usual. You don’t shoot things down over American airspace. We’ve never done that before. And we’ve done it four times in the last eight days.”

Ron Klain Looks Back on Biden’s First Two Years

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Even Osnos did a fascinating New Yorker interview with former White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

“Look, obviously, my life experience is twenty years in government, twenty in the private sector. So I get the fact that there are outside experiences that you can bring to us. They’re very important, and we have people who have different backgrounds. But I think one reason why our team has been successful working for President Biden is that we are all people who have spent a substantial part of our careers in government or in politics, and experience matters. I think that, at the senior level, we’re one of the oldest teams ever here at the White House, but that age has purchased a lot of experience.”

First Shot at Flying Object Missed

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“The U.S. military jet that downed an unknown object in the Michigan sky on Sunday missed on its first attempt over Lake Huron,” Fox News reports.

“It wasn’t clear where the missile that missed ultimately landed. The second missile took down the target. Each of the missiles costs more than $400,000.”

McCarthy Pushes Talk of ‘Plan B’ Underground

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Playbook: “The biggest subplot of the slowest-moving story In Washington — the partisan standoff over the federal debt ceiling — has so far centered on whether, absent a deal between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, moderate House Republicans might somehow band together with House Democrats to avoid a catastrophic default.”

“The speculation has gone far enough to prompt several explainers about how it all might work — whether through a discharge petition or other obscure House procedures that could allow a bipartisan coalition to skirt conservatives’ spending-cut demands.”

“It’s gone so far, we’re told, that McCarthy has in recent days sent a message from on high to centrists who have openly toyed with the idea: You’re killing my leverage with Biden.”

“But while these conversations might have gone underground, we can report that they are very much still alive.”

Pence to Fight Special Counsel Subpoena

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“Mike Pence is preparing to resist a grand jury subpoena for testimony about former President Donald Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the former vice president’s thinking,” Politico reports.

“Pence’s decision to challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request has little to do with executive privilege, the people said. Rather, Pence is set to argue that his former role as president of the Senate — therefore a member of the legislative branch — shields him from certain Justice Department demands.”

Elizabeth Warren Cultivates Anti-Crypto Coalition

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Politico: “Crypto advocates are resisting Warren’s push, and some dismiss her as an outlier. But her budding partnership with GOP lawmakers reflects broader forces that are poised to unite progressives and conservatives, watchdog groups and bankers, who share common cause in wanting to derail the unfettered growth of crypto.”

Wall Street Journal: Crypto investors brace for more crackdown from regulators.

About Political Wire

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.

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