“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.”

Gerald Baker: “Has there ever been a figure a year into his term reduced to such impotence that his aides are impelled to whine to friendly media about the ‘disrespect’ shown him by a first-term senator? Can you imagine Lyndon Johnson’s acolytes doing that for him? Ronald Reagan’s?”

“Vice President Kamala Harris’ new communications director is set to meet this week with Latino lawmakers to explain past tweets about immigrants as he continues to face pressure from Latino leaders and organizations to explain himself,” CBS News reports.

A new CBS/YouGov poll finds that among respondents who said President Biden is doing a bad job handling the pandemic, 69% said “information has been confusing.”

Washington Post: “If he entered office a year ago with promises of a forceful new era of government action, the past week displayed, like few of the 50 weeks that preceded it, the struggles he is facing on the cusp of his second year in office…”

“Biden has always considered himself an optimist, hoping for positive outcomes and casting aside pessimistic prognosticators. But the past week crystallized that, at least in the current political, economic and foreign policy environment, Biden is struggling to shape events and instead is finding himself shaped by them.”

Wall Street Journal: The week Biden’s agenda hit a wall.

Dan Balz: “Biden’s road ahead looks as challenging as it did when he took the oath of office a year ago, though for different reasons. A year ago, he was arriving in the middle of a crisis — just days after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and with a coronavirus pandemic that was raging. He said he was determined to lower temperatures, seek unity and demonstrate competent leadership after four chaotic years under President Donald Trump.”

“Today, Biden is dealing with challenges that have much to do with how he tried to govern in his first year, problems compounded by resistance from Republicans and his predecessor’s ongoing efforts to undermine faith in democratic processes. He also begins the year with far less popular support than a year ago. Despite some successes, his approval ratings remain in perilous political territory. How he responds will be critical.”

“Just over a year ago, millions of energized young people, women, voters of color and independents joined forces to send Joe Biden to the White House. But 12 months into his presidency, many describe a coalition in crisis,” the Associated Press reports.

“Leading voices across Biden’s diverse political base openly decry the slow pace of progress on key campaign promises. The frustration was especially pronounced this past week after Biden’s push for voting rights legislation effectively stalled, intensifying concerns in his party that fundamental democratic principles are at risk and reinforcing a broader sense that the president is faltering at a moment of historic consequence.

“President Joe Biden will hold a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, the eve of the one-year anniversary of his inauguration,” the AP reports.

“The news conference comes as Biden is attempting to salvage his voting rights initiative and economic agenda, both of which lack the votes to move forward in the evenly-split Senate.”

The Economist: “Tempting as it always is to bash the politician, however, Mr Biden’s shortcomings are only a marginal reason for his unpopularity. The main one is the dismal reality that half the electorate was against him from the get-go.”

“This is a relatively new phenomenon. Mr Trump was the first modern president not to have been backed by a significant minority of his opponent’s supporters early in his term. By contrast, the fact that Mr Biden started out with an approval rate two percentage points higher than his share of the popular vote looked like an achievement. But relentless criticism and disinformation from the right soon reversed that.”

From the White House press briefing:

REPORTER: So the sense is things are going well, there’s no need for change right now?

JEN PSAKI: We could certainly propose legislation to see if people support bunny rabbits and ice cream, but that wouldn’t be very rewarding for the American people.

FiveThirtyEight: “It’s hard to know how this all factors into Biden’s job approval rating, but broadly speaking, the public is dissatisfied. And it has been for a while now, too, as Biden’s approval rating has hovered in the low 40s for nearly three months, with roughly 42 percent of Americans currently approving of his job performance and 51 percent disapproving.”

“Looking back at recent presidents, this development is particularly troubling for Biden, as he has the second-lowest approval rating of any president one-year in. Only Donald Trump, whose approval rating was in the high 30s, had a lower rating.”

“Vice President Harris’s team is engaged in a series of course changes that aides and supporters hope will boost her public image and reset her political prospects, after a first year in office that even some of her allies say has fallen short of expectations,” the Washington Post reports.

“She has hired Jamal Simmons, a seasoned political operator and familiar face on cable news, to oversee her communications. She has returned to President Biden’s side for big events. She is mulling a heavier media schedule after months of looking warily at such engagements. She is looking to benefit from an extensive schedule of midterm campaigning that aides hope will revive Democrats’ faith in her political skills and popular appeal.”