🇺🇸 Joe's Second Go

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Good morning, and happy Thursday! What do the happiest people in the US have in common? A new poll sheds light on shared values, and it offers some fascinating insight into how the happiest people in the United States live.

Plus, we may have found Elon Musk's secret Twitter account... and it's weird...

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FLAG POLLS

📉 Tuesday, April 25, Republican Presidential Nomination 2024: Trump 49, DeSantis 23, Pence 6, Haley 3, T. Scott, Ramaswamy 2, Christie 0, Hutchinson 0, Noem, Sununu 1, Youngkin (Reuters/Ipsos)

📉 Tuesday, April 25, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 41, Disapprove 54 (Reuters/Ipsos)

📉 Tuesday, April 25, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 43, Disapprove 50 (NPR/PBS/Marist)

📉 Tuesday, April 25, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 49, Disapprove 50 (Rasmussen Reports)

TRENDING

Left: Democrats Should Make Abortion a Cornerstone Issue Jeet Heer, The Nation

Left: BuzzFeed's Epic Fail Is Bad News Maria Bustillos, The Nation

Left: Democrats Don't Need To Be Especially Good To Win Moira Donegan, The Guardian

Right: Democrats Have No Answers as Violence Rages in Chicago Adam Coleman, New York Post

Right: Politico's Gorsuch Hit Continues To Delegitimize SCOTUS David Harsanyi, Federalist

Right: The Courage of Tucker Carlson Sohrab Ahmari, The American Conservative

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QUICK CLICKS

ZelenXi, Disney v. DeSantis, Bernie Backs Down

World: Ukraine's Zelensky holds first war phone call with China's Xi (BBC)

US: Disney sues Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleges political effort to hurt its business (NBC)

US: Bernie Sanders endorses Biden for re-election, nixes his own 2024 run (New York Post)

US: Trump accuser begins to testify in rape lawsuit trial (AP News)

US: Tucker Carlson’s Vulgar, Offensive Messages About Colleagues Helped Seal His Fate at Fox News (Wall Street Journal)

Religion: Pope Francis gives women the right to vote for the first time at crucial bishops' meeting (USA Today)

Sports: Aaron Rodgers bids heartfelt farewell to Packers after 18 seasons: 'I will see you again Green Bay' (Fox News)

2024

Joe's Second Go

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden officially announced his intention to seek a second term. Biden emphasized American democracy still faces a significant threat from former President Donald Trump, insisting there is work yet to be done to "fight for our democracy."

Reporting from The Left: Biden announces reelection bid, saying battle for nation's soul isn't complete Kevin Liptak et al, CNN

Reporting from The Right: White House dismisses polls showing concern for Biden's age, Democrats not wanting him to run again Brandon Gillespie, Fox News

From The Flag: Biden's reelection bid has been a point of contention among Republicans and his fellow Democrats alike. The matter of his advanced age is arguably the most common criticism levied against him running, resulting in palpable discussions over his fitness to serve in the country's highest offices.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden: Maybe Old, Maybe Boring, Still Electable

• Some Republicans think Biden will cost Democrats the presidency, but the reality is their own actions will cost them across the board in 2024.

• Biden's age is undoubtedly a significant Achilles' heal, but his best bet at success is to point toward his accomplishments in his first term.

• This primary season is going to be uneventful, given a practically guaranteed conclusion that Biden will secure the Democrat's nomination for President.

The Coming Biden Blowout David Frum, The Atlantic: "Despite lavish anti-Trump donations by big-money Republicans, Trump is cruising to easy renomination. Rather than capitalize on existing economic troubles, Republicans have started a debt-ceiling fight that will cast them as the cause of America’s economic troubles. Worse for them, the troubles are fast receding. Inflation is vexing, but the recession that Republicans hoped for did not materialize: Instead, Joe Biden has presided over the fastest and steepest unemployment reduction in U.S. economic history. Chief among what motivates voters who face obstacles is hope. People will endure and overcome barriers when they feel that their vote can make a difference. If Democrats succeed in communicating hope in 2024 that young people can contribute to a decisive defeat of Trump and MAGA extremism, then that is what they will do. This cycle, that hope is well founded. Republicans are doing everything wrong. They are talking to their voters about Trump’s personal grievances and about boutique culture-war issues…"

Biden's Age Is a Weakness, But His Record Is a Strength Donna Brazile, USA Today: "To win, Biden should study the campaign of President Ronald Reagan, another senior citizen who successfully neutralized the age issue. Democrat Biden will be 81 on Election Day in 2024, and he'd turn 86 before completing a second term in January 2029. Republican Reagan was 73 when he was reelected in a landslide in 1984 as the oldest president in American history to that point. Reagan wisely made the focus of his campaign what he had accomplished in his first term and what he could accomplish in a second, rather than focusing on his age. … Biden should do the same. Biden should also remind voters that the unemployment rate – driven up by the pandemic – was 6.3% when Trump left office, compared with just 3.5% this March. A record 12.6 million jobs have been created in the United States since Biden became president. Schools and businesses have reopened thanks to the successful rollout of free COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments."

One more opinion piece from the Right: '24 Could Be the Most Boring Presidential Primary Season Ever Harry Enten, CNN

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Weak Candidate, Weaker Party

• Even while admitting his weaknesses, Democrats have fallen behind Biden's reelection bid, with no significant Democratic candidate currently running.

• Democrats and Biden desperately want Trump to become the Republican presidential nominee because they're convinced they can beat him.

• Biden's bid may come at a steep price: four more years of a senile liar who can still beat Trump again.

No Good Alternative? Why Dems Are Sticking With Biden W. James Antle III, Washington Examiner: "President Joe Biden has low job approval ratings, has lackluster Democratic enthusiasm, and will turn 82 shortly after the next presidential election, and most voters say they don’t want him to run for a second term. Nevertheless, that is exactly what Biden announced he would do Tuesday morning — saying he needs to "finish the job" with another term in office. And the Democratic Party has all but cleared the field for him to do so. Not a single one of the Democrats’ 264 members of Congress or 24 governors went so far as to set up an exploratory committee to contemplate a campaign for the 2024 nomination or a primary challenge to Biden. Biden repeatedly delayed his planned reelection campaign launch and managed to be the first and, so far, the only major Democratic presidential candidate with substantial electoral experience."

Biden Is Desperately Seeking Trump Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: "[Biden’s campaign] video betrays a little too obviously what Democrats and the press know but don’t like to admit in public: Mr. Biden desperately wants a rematch with Donald Trump. He doesn’t want to run on his own record. He wants to run one more time by stoking fear about what might happen if the former President returns to the Oval Office Mr. Biden won in 2020 by campaigning largely as the anti-Trump—a reassuring old hand you wouldn’t have to think about every day—and he figures he can do it again. The campaign strategy of putting Mr. Trump front and center worked to minimize Democratic losses in 2022. And the party is rolling it out again as Democratic prosecutors line up to keep Mr. Trump center stage with real and potential criminal indictments designed to stretch from here to Election Day."

One more opinion piece from the Left: Biden’s in for ‘24 — and we may all pay the hefty price for it Editorial Board, New York Post

FLAG THIS

Biden Has Plenty of Support in Primary but Will He in General?

According to FiveThirtyEight, despite misgivings about his age, Democrats will still likely vote for Biden in a primary.

But in the general election, Biden’s age could be a greater liability, especially if his opponent is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is currently polling second after Trump in FiveThirtyEight’s 2024 Republican primary polling average. At 44, he is just over half Biden’s age, making for an easy generational contrast.

With that said, FiveThirtyEight emphasizes currently polling is highly subject to changes, especially once the GOP primary field becomes clearer.

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Universe Created, Alternate "How Are You" Questions, J. Peterman

On April 27, 4977 B.C., the universe is created, according to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern science. Kepler is best known for his theories explaining the motion of planets.

Lifehacker: Ask These Questions Instead of 'How Are You?'

The Verge: 25 Years Later Netflix Finally Won

Fast Company: Why Six Hours Of Sleep Is As Bad As None At All

Today I Learned that John O’Hurley, the actor who played the fictional version of J. Peterman on Seinfeld, now owns the J. Peterman company with the real J. Peterman.