带走里克·克莱因
这两件事都可能是真的:民主党是在悬崖上历史性的国内立法成就，并准备好迎接符合历史趋势的中期选举。
这也可能是真的外交政策选择可以包含所有这些，甚至不是乔·拜登总统改变其前任立场的地方。
拜登是在一个特殊的政治形势下从华盛顿短暂休夏的。随着新的不确定性和旧的争吵新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)，一个不断恶化和非常可怕的情况在阿富汗无论是基础设施法案还是他的议程都没有终结，总统和他的政党都面临一系列要么全有要么全无的挑战。
民调数字不断下降只是其中的一部分。拜登的地位长期以来与人们对他的看法息息相关大流行的处理，和常态一直难以捉摸今年夏天。
塔利班的推进使得五角大楼现在向阿富汗派遣了3000名作战部队帮助撤退文职人员和阿富汗人帮助了美国长期使命那里。这甚至发生在拜登设定的撤军最后期限之前——他本周表示，他将坚持这一决定。
与此同时，国会知道众议院通过了参议院基础设施法案，正在自行缩短休息时间不保证正如参议院温和派可能会让进步派所青睐的更大规模的社会支出计划泡汤一样。
拜登曾经被攻击和称赞为一个在总统任期内渐进前进的人。未来的挑战无处不在。
与...的关系阿维·哈珀
在……里文化战争这已经成为关于新冠肺炎相关的学校安全预防措施的争论势头似乎是站在支持安全预防措施的一边。
佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯威胁要砍当地教育官员拒绝让家庭选择不戴口罩的工资。但是威胁听起来很空洞-德桑蒂斯没有权力。相反，他的办公室呼吁当地教育官员无视他的反口罩令，扣下自己的工资。
在德克萨斯州，越来越多的学区公然无视格雷格·艾伯特州长的反口罩令和强制口罩。就在此时，雅培和得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿发出了起诉威胁。
全国最大的教师工会全国教育协会，已经批准了疫苗或者对教师的COVID测试要求在加州州长加文·纽瑟姆宣布他的州将是第一个要求疫苗或严格的教师测试时间表的州之后。
“这与政治无关。这是为了保护我们孩子的安全，”总统说星期四。“感谢市长、学校负责人、教育工作者、地方领导人，他们挺身而出，反对州长将保护我们孩子的口罩政治化，谢谢你们。”
随着新冠肺炎病例的激增继续冲突随着返校季，要求拜登政府干预州长藐视公众的州的压力健康指导只会增长。
小费亚里沙·维尔塞马
备受期待的人口普查重划液滴提供了一个窥视方式数据最终可能会转化在接下来的几个月里，尤其是在一些战场州。
根据信息周四公布的数据显示，在过去十年中，美国人口增长最快的都会区是佛罗里达州的村庄，“从约9.3万人增长到约13万人，增长了39%。”萨姆特县是该州第11个国会选区的一个退休社区。共和党一直在壮大他们的胜率在过去的几个大选周期中，该州的政治轨迹越来越红。
亚利桑那州这个新品牌的战场还可以拥有另一个新头衔——美国发展最快的城市凤凰城的所在地。在过去的十年里，首都的人口变化了11.2%。民主党人逐渐扩大了他们在该地区的影响力在过去的几个周期中-甚至帮助拜登在11月翻转该州。这人口增长在该州人口最多的地区，这可能会进一步巩固亚利桑那州作为蓝色州的地位。
宾夕法尼亚州，这个为拜登赢得总统职位的州，可能会继续其作为政治超级州的记录。鉴于东南部以外的地区人口减少，它将失去一个国会席位。这些数据可能会进一步凸显宾夕法尼亚州现有的城乡政治分歧。
All-or-nothing stakes cloud Biden presidency: The Note
The TAKE withRick Klein
Both of these things can be true: Democrats areon the precipiceof historic domestic legislative achievements and braced for a midterm wipeout that would fit with historical trends.
This can also be true: Aforeign-policy choicecould subsume all of that -- and it's not even one where President Joe Biden was reversing a position taken by his predecessor.
Biden is taking his shortened summer break from Washington in a peculiar political situation. Withnew uncertaintiesand old squabbles aroundCOVID-19, a deteriorating anddownright scary situationinAfghanistanand no finality to either infrastructure bill that carries so much of his agenda, the president and his party confront a series of all-or-nothing-at-all challenges.
Weakening poll numbersare just a piece of it. Biden's standing has long been tied to perceptions of hishandling of the pandemic, andnormalcy has been elusivethis summer.
The Taliban's advance has the Pentagon now sending 3,000 combat troops into Afghanistanto help withdrawcivilian staff and Afghans who have helped thelong U.S. missionthere. That's happening even before the deadline Biden set for troop withdrawal -- a decision he said this week that he stands by.
Congress, meanwhile, is on its own truncated break knowing that House passage of the Senate infrastructure billis not guaranteed, just as Senate moderates could sink the far larger social-spending package favored by progressives.
Biden was once both attacked and praised as someone who would be an incremental approach to progress in the presidency. There's nothing small about the challenges ahead.
The RUNDOWN withAveri Harper
In theculture warthat has become the debate over COVID-19-related safety precautions in schools, themomentum appears to beon the side of those who are pro-safety precautions.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hadthreatened to slashthe pay of local education officials who refused to let families opt out of mask mandates. But thethreats have rung hollow-- DeSantis doesn’t have the power. Instead, his office is calling on local education officials defying his anti-mask order to dock their own pay.
In Texas, a growing number of school districtsare openly disregardingGov. Greg Abbott’s anti-mask order and mandating masks. It comes as Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have levied threats to sue.
The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union,has endorsed vaccineor COVID testing requirements for teachers following California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement his state would be the first to require vaccines or a rigorous testing schedule for teachers.
"This isn't about politics. This is about keeping our children safe,"the president saidon Thursday. “To the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders who are standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our kids, thank you."
As the surge in COVID-19 casescontinues to clashwithback-to-school season, the pressure for the Biden administration to intervene in states where governors are flouting publichealthguidance will only grow.
The TIP withAlisa Wiersema
The much anticipated censusredistricting dropoffered a peek into the way in whichdata could end up translatinginto politics in the coming months -- especially in some battleground states.
According toinformationmade public Thursday, the nation's fastest-growing metro area over the last decade was The Villages in Florida, "which grew 39% from about 93,000 people to about 130,000 people." The Sumter County area is a retirement community in the state's 11th Congressional District. Republicans have been growingtheir winning marginsthere over the last several general election cycles, thereby contributing to the state's increasingly red political trajectory.
The newly branded battleground of Arizona can also boast another new title -- the home of the nation's fastest-growing city, Phoenix. Over the last decade, the capital had an 11.2% change in population. Democrats have gradually expanded their influence in the areaover the last several cycles-- even helping Biden flip the state in November. Thepopulation growthin the state's most populous area could further solidify Arizona as a blue state.
Pennsylvania, the state that clinched Biden the presidency, could continue its track record as a political tossup. It is slated to lose a congressional seat given that areas outside of the southeast saw population declines. The data could further highlight Pennsylvania's existing urban versus rural political divide.
