FAST TAKES
Conservative: Bam Slams Habits That Drove His Career
Speaking in South Africa, Barack Obama this week “said a lot of things that could, or should, get conservatives nodding in agreement” about the state of US politics and the broader geopolitical scene, contends National Review’s Jim Geraghty. But the former president never seemed to “confront the fact that he had a lot to do” with both. For example, he “took a shot at identity politics” — but ignored the fact that he made Al Sharpton his “go-to man on race.” He bemoaned partisanship and division yet forgot that his response to GOP criticism of his stimulus package was, “I won.” And when he complained that today’s pols “just make stuff up,” he doubtless didn’t mean his own assertion: “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan, and if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”
Foreign desk: If Only Trump Would Stop Talking
Harry Kazianis at The Hill predicts President Trump “will weather the storm” over his “colossal mistake” with Vladimir Putin at Helsinki — “at least this time.” Because America actually is “on the rise” in the global pecking order,” all thanks to Trump’s policies. NATO “remains intact and is getting stronger.” Russia “is a weak, declining power,” and North Korea “for now has been tamed.” But the president has a tendency to “undermine it all with shoot-from-the-hip comments that could prove politically fatal if he is not careful.” When Trump “opens his mouth,” cautions Kazanis, he threatens to undo all of his success. So “he must learn a lesson from Helsinki — or else.”
Political scribe: Crunching Cuomo’s Big Money Numbers
Gov. Cuomo “is trying to have it both ways,” charges NY1’s Bob Hardt: On the one hand, he’s intimidating his campaign foes with a $31 million war chest. But he “also wants to look like he’s a man of the people” by boasting about a slew of small donations.” So instead of talking about the Winkelvoss twins, who gave his campaign $130,000 “while benefiting from a decision by state regulators,” Cuomo prefers “the 67 times that someone named Christopher Kim” — who happens to live with one of the governor’s campaign aides — “decided to donate $1 to Cuomo.” That’s just one of several “ham-handed attempts at inflating the number of the governor’s small donations.” And while “there’s nothing inherently wrong with being a middle-aged pol with rich friends,” it “looks bad when you’re trying to sing a different tune.”
From the left: Yelling ‘Treason’ Plays Into Trump’s Hands
President Trump’s critics “need to stop saying the word ‘treason,’ ” warns The Daily Beast’s Jay Michaelson, calling it “factually incorrect and politically counterproductive.” Treason, he notes, “is clearly defined in the Constitution,” but that definition “doesn’t apply to Trump” and his critics should be leery of bending the rules. The overly broad and “loose use” of “treason,” he notes, historically has been “an easy way to crack down on political dissent.” And given Trump’s own “deeply tortured relationship with the truth,” it’s no time for his foes to do likewise. Because it merely “increases the volume and decreases the meaning of the accusation.” Fact is, “it’s the kind of sloppy falsehood Trump himself would use.”
Fiscal expert: Uncapping a SALT Cap Surprise
A federal lawsuit filed by four states, including New York and New Jersey, charges that the new limit on state and local tax deductions “is likely to substantially decrease home values,” reports the Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon. The suit cites a December 2017 Moody’s analysis that made just such a prediction. One problem, says McMahon: So far, “there’s no sign of this happening.” Indeed, the real-estate markets in the region’s most highly taxed suburbs show “tight inventories” and “rising price levels.” This, even though you’d expect homeowners looking at higher taxes “to be rushing to the exits.” But housing prices are “heavily influenced by other factors, including mortgage rates” and demand, particularly from young buyers, which remains strong. Yes, prices will eventually weaken, and Gov. Cuomo “will seize on the trend as evidence that the federal tax law is to blame.” But “we’ll have no way of knowing for sure.”