From the right: Putin’s Ukraine War Game
Although “Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine does not appear to be going well,” Daniel McCarthy at Spectator World advises “caution.” With his forces surrounding major cities, the Russian strongman might be trying to “turn his opponent’s strength, the relationship between Ukraine and the West, into leverage that he can use instead.” The endgame: “take Ukraine hostage and get the Ukrainians themselves to implore the West to put everything on the table,” possibly even a reversal of all sanctions as well as “Western recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea, and Western and Ukrainian recognition of the puppet republics of Luhansk and Donetsk.” Putin’s eyes are set not just on territory but “preserving the character of Russia as he envisions it — his Russia.”
Liberal: Why I’ve Enraged NYT Readers
“Many liberals have spent two years thinking of COVID mitigations as responsible, necessary, even patriotic. This attitude has become part of their identity,” David Leonhardt tells Sam Adler-Bell at New York magazine. Leonhardt, whose New York Times morning newsletter has 5 million readers, “sees his role as being an implicit corrective to some of the more alarming coverage” in the Times and other media, whose journalists have what he calls a “bad-news bias.” Leonhardt points out COVID restrictions have “modest benefits and large, regressive costs,” with school closures, for example, damaging “poor kids and kids of color the most.” His call for a return to normalcy, Adler-Bell reports, has “enraged” many Times readers.
Pandemic journal: More FDA Madness
The Food and Drug Administration’s “whiplash” on Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for those age 6 months to 4 years “further undermines the agency’s credibility at precisely the moment the public needs faith in vaccine regulators,” thunders Vinay Prasad at City Journal. “The FDA initially gave Pfizer a layup,” saying it “would settle” for a trial showing “antibody levels generated in kids were close enough to levels generated in older age groups” rather than one “showing the vaccine lowers the risk of severe outcomes.” Pfizer couldn’t even meet that lowered standard, leading to parents worried about “school or daycare mandates based on” a failed study. Experts praised the FDA when it finally decided against approval — which is like “cheering an arsonist for putting out a fire he himself started.”
Washington watch: Dems vs. Biden on SOTU
“Every year after the president’s State of the Union, a member of the opposing party traditionally gives a formal response,” notes Business Insider’s Grace Panetta. But President Biden’s first “will get multiple responses from his own party — a highly unusual development that reflects some of the splits within the Democratic caucus.” Those booked to respond include progressive Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib on behalf of the Working Families Party and Rep. Colin Allred for the Congressional Black Caucus. Of course, “not every House Democrat is happy with the split-screen programming,” with one calling Tlaib’s “massively counterproductive” plan “like keying your own car and slashing your own tires.”
Foreign desk: How the West Hurt Ukraine
America and Europe share “much of the responsibility for encouraging Russia to invade Ukraine,” declares Frank Furedi at Spiked. President Biden “stated that the West might tolerate Russia making a ‘minor incursion’ into Ukraine,” and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Ukraine “to accept Russian demands to negotiate over the so-called separatist republics” in its Donbas region. The “West’s feeble reaction to Moscow’s show of strength over the last year” likely encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin “to believe the risks of invading Ukraine were not as high as they might once have been.” Although “Moscow’s attempt to redraw the political map of Europe and reshape the post-Soviet security order could now easily backfire,” it seems “history has woken up. The balance of power in Europe is shifting.” Which carries danger too: “Changes to the balance of power rarely occur without serious conflict.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
