October. Surprises here in the US and crises on the world stage are
rippling through American politics, with the midterms just a month
away and early voting already underway in some states. That brings
us to the analysis of Brooks and K part that is New York Times columnist
David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington
Post. And Welcome to you both. It's good to see you, too. In the
final weeks before those midterm elections, you expect some potentially
politically damaging stories to be dropping. We see Hunter
Biden's name back in the headlines all week. Herschel Walker's name
has been in the news over reports he paid for his girlfriend's abortion
back in 2009, even as he supports
A national ban. So David does any of this resonate with voters voters?
Is it? Is it likely to move the needle? You would think so. You know,
it used to be if somebody did something really bad Herschel Walker
Bunch of unacknowledged kids like that's not great if your family
values gone
You would think it would hurt. And yet if you look at the polls there
pretty tight in that race, Walker was up. One time Warner goes up
more recently, but they're tight. And so the question becomes Maybe
scandal doesn't matter.
And so you work for like, why? Well, one I had a couple people somebody
that's in Nevada and somebody in Oklahoma said to me
in the last couple of weeks, all politics is national now.
You try to have local politics and local issue, But no, it's all
controlled by the big national debate and you tear up a church. You
tear up a local community organization over the big national issues.
Second, huge distrust for the media. So a lot of time. Sure, a lot
of Georgia Republicans are saying Well, they're always going to play
that game and and just decided we need to beat the other side.
And it maybe it's possible. I still think candidate quality has to
matter in the Senate race, But maybe it's possible people just are
so locked into their issues and want to be the other side that it
really won't hurt him. Heard Mitch McConnell talk about candidate
quality issues, right. And yet Republican leadership is standing
firmly by Herschel Walker. What does that tell you?
It says a lot about the Republican Party right now to your point,
David, I think it was Dana Loesch this week.
Really just put the put her finger on what is happening with Herschel
Walker and Georgia and she said.
Basically and paraphrasing. Who cares about the Children? Who cares
about the abortion? All I want is the Senate seat.
For the majority.
That is what this is all about. Candidate quality. Yes, it should
matter. But the Republican Party has made it clear Senator Rick Scott,
who is the head of the Senate campaign committee. By recruiting these
folks has made it clear candidate equality doesn't matter. It's about
putting people in position to win.
Um, the fact that the proposals are closed in Georgia, I think says
a lot about the party says a lot about Georgia and says a lot about
where we are As a country. There is no way I am old enough to remember.
When a candidate like Herschel Walker wouldn't even get anywhere
close to running in the primary.
And now he's he's maybe 30 days away from being elected to the United
States Senate from Georgia.
Given everything that we know about, we know in the reporting anymore.
Red lines here, David, Is it all fair game?
Um, well, a couple things first. I have to say sometimes Democrats,
I do remember the Clinton Lewinsky scandal. The people stuck with
Bill Clinton. Maybe when they shouldn't have. I mean, I always go
back to Chappaquiddick. And so you know, people are partisan. Good.
See scandals through parts of lines. What bothers me? I know Jonathan
has gonna brilliant. Come back to what I just said second, Jonathan,
Go ahead. Uh, is not the rehearsal. Well, it's bad enough to character
issues because
In my opinion, and I am an opinion journalist. He's not even questioning
qualified to be a senator. Like he hasn't done the requisite things
that one would do if one wanted to serve in high office. And so I
think that is the media change that anybody with the media and they're
always been athletes, but they generally had some seriousness. Steve
Largent, Jack Kemp. They had some serious policy chops and that seems
lacking here. Let you respond since David name checked you there.
Okay. Wonderful love that. I do want to ask you, David, that one
something else on domestic politics.
Because we saw
Republican Senator Ben Sasse with the announcement that he plans
to resign at the end of the year. You you know him, and I just wonder
if that struck you or surprised you because now we have another of
the very few Republican Republican public critics of former President
Trump stepping out of politics. Yeah, so it didn't surprise me. The
timing surprised me. But I have had this conversation with him several
times that when he talked he was a college president before this,
And when he talks about being a college president, his eyes just
light up.
When he talks about being US senator, his eyes shut down. And so
it's just a fact. Not only for Ben says that a lot of people don't
like being in the center right now. It's just not much fun. And I
think being an educator really is where his heart is. And so you
know, I lead a life where you can have a big impact as an educator.
So let them do that about the state of the Senate than anything else.
Right. Meanwhile, look on the world stage. I have to ask you about
something we heard from President Biden we reported
Early in the show. Last night, he offered a very stark assessment
of where things are in Russia's war in Ukraine, and what is at stake
here is just one quote from what he said as reported quote for the
first time since the Cuban missile crisis. We have a direct threat
to the use of nuclear weapons. I don't think there's any such thing
as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end
up with Armageddon.
David. It's about his plainly as it can be stated Armageddon. Did
that strike you?
Well, we're not at the Cuban missile crisis. But, you know, I've
been wondering Putin's been talking about nukes. How seriously does
the administration take it and my impression is that they don't think
it's probable, but they do think it's possible and they're really
worried about it. And that's in part because Russian military adoption
is different than ours. We put nuclear weapons in a different category.
Russian military action puts tactical the smaller nuclear weapons
as a legitimate weapon of war.
And so it's not as big of a hurdle for them to use them. Whether
would help is very, very unclear, by the way, but the administration's
working super hard to send messages to Russia that this really would
be catastrophic if you did this, and so I think that statement as
part of that, But in terms of public messaging, I mean this is much
further than even the White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre
has gone. She's been asked about it, she said. We don't have any
new information about an imminent threat. National Security advisor
Jake Sullivan has also not gone this far.
He said Armageddon. Hmm. Yeah, I listened to you read it, and I and
I read it on the screen, and I'm sitting here trying to think What's
the Where is the hair on fire statement here other than other than
Armageddon. I heard about that last night. And I thought this is
the president. Being the president. This clearly is top of mind for
President Biden. This is clearly something to David's point.
That. Not only is the administration taking seriously in private,
but it's something that it seems the president is taking seriously.
Personally, It is top of mind and we've seen many times when the
president, he says things and people run out and say, Oh, my God,
he said. This it's a Gaff. It's a mistake. The administration runs
out and tries to dialect back, but he ends up coming back to it.
We've seen that time. How many times five times when it comes to
Taiwan, Taiwan back Sometimes you have to think
Yeah, This is just presidential policy like he is. The president
gets to make policy, but they shouldn't be walking it back all the
time. And I think what the president is using a stark words like
Armageddon. I think it to David Swain. I think he's sending us a
message to the Russians. But he's also saying to the American people
actually to people around the world.
Let's not pretend that Putin in this losing war.
I wouldn't use tactical nuclear weapons. We need to be ready for
this. Just get our minds around, Get our imaginations working to
the point where we could see this happen. And then once you do that,
you can figure out how do we How would we respond could not be higher
deal with the fluidity of the situation. We've been surprised Three
weeks ago, when Ukrainians began to make March this past week there
taking a bunch of territory super ambitious Super Mobile, The Russians
are falling back away from the places they just called Russian territory.
So a losing Vladimir Putin becomes a very different animal.
And that's what they're trying to grapple with. In the same time
support in Europe for the war is rising, not falling, Even with the
tough winter they're about to have. The Europeans have done a good
job of stockpiling energy. And so things are just looking very good
for the Ukrainians, all of which has to look pretty menacing from
Latin America. At the same time, the global crises do keep piling
up. I mean, you also just solved this week, the OPEC
Plus countries decided to slash oil production drastically right.
Russia's obviously part of that decision, along with the Saudis,
That means more oil, more oil revenues for Russia. It's going to
fuel the war in Ukraine. President President Biden is going to have
to deal with all that back here, right inflation is likely to persist
as prices are going to go up. Is he doing enough to respond to all
that? There's nothing he can do inflation. I mean, he tried to get
the Saudis not to do this.
And that failed, and so he's doing what he can. He's going to have
to face the inflation. I think the main thing is to win the war in
Ukraine, like the inflation is survivable, but this could be an ethical
victory for the forces of liberal democracy of Ukraine Does this
and so helping the Europeans
preparing the Americans?
And then ultimately aiding the Ukrainians is that's the number one
thing in the world right now. Inflation is survivable, but people
feel it every day. It is top of mind. There is an election looming.
Is there anything else he could be saying to message to American
people? Or will they just blame him anyway? No matter what he says.
They will blame him and I'm sure people will make the link and say,
Oh, OPEC plus countries cut cut production.
That's why my gas prices are going up. He went to Saudi Arabia and
this bumped NBS and look at where we are. He failed. None of it made.
None of it fits. None of it is truly connected. But when you're going
to the gas pump, and it was a $4 yesterday and 4 45 the following
week, you don't care about this nuances during Mr President. What
happened?
Well, listen, if we can end with a moment of Zen if such a thing
exists in American politics today
and also call attention to the fact that millions of people are still
really struggling in Florida, more than a week after Hurricane Ian
ripped through, I want to share a couple of pictures we saw when
President Biden made a trip down there. He and Republican Governor
Ron DeSantis shared a stage. They walked around meeting with people.
They even
Shared a handshake. If you can believe it, I have to pause as I say
that. It's a rare sight these days. And I just wonder how that moment
sat with each of you, Jonathan.
It is that moment a little bit of a ray of hope that in all of the
partisanship, we've seen your fingers are this far apart
of hope that of all the horrible things that Governor De Santis has
said about the president and the administration. Then he's done with
my sending migrants to Martha's Vineyard that when his state got
hit
By the hurricane. He didn't play politics with their lives. Mr President.
Welcome to Florida. Let me show you the damage. Please help.
Um
I only say a Ray because he then apparently went on a conservative
radio show and then blasted the administration so that that's why
it's a ray of hope and not, you know, I'm sorry. Glimmer of hope,
not a ray of hope. Not not a full, not a full ray. But it was. It's
a good thing to see that they could put politics aside long enough
to try to help people in need.
David what you think I was thinking? You remember, we used to live
in a country that was divided and polarized. And then it all was
over
Flat
two got together. I saw angels coming down from heaven cherubs coming
out of the Palm Beach club, and we're coming over from playing.
No, I I agree with John. It was nice to see politicians behaving
like normal human beings. It is it. Does it take a national tragedy,
though for things like this to happen
little more of that in private, then they can allow and and you know,
if you get members of Congress together than the rare occasions when
they get together, there's a lot more than just normally men being
speaking with each other.
Well, I don't think we can do enough to remind people those moments
exist even though we don't always get to talk about them. David Brooks,