"In the before times, I was very wary of candidates whose quest for the presidency seemed too insistent and all-consuming..."

"... who had been nursing the dream for too long and clinging to it too tightly. I worried that such single-mindedness erased any space for subtlety, for introspection, for ambivalence, for the crucially instructive mess of an unscripted life. And would voters relate to it? Part of what drew many Democrats I know to Barack Obama was that he seemed to be working through decidedly mixed feelings about his quest for the presidency — as most well-adjusted people would be. Part of what drew many Republicans I know to George W. Bush was that he seemed less comfortable on the campaign trail than on his ranch.... Newsom seems entirely unrestrained and wholly immodest, his confession of a 960 on his SAT notwithstanding.... But Newsom’s strut is working for him.... [I]f the Newsom way is looking like the surest path to a post-Trump future, I’m happy to head in that direction."

Writes Frank Bruni, in "Will a Peacock Like Gavin Newsom Fly?" (NYT).

There's no sure "path to a post-Trump future." To pose the problem in those terms frames the real problem: Democrats have made hatred of Trump their central issue. Get some substance of your own! You still have to be something that the people want. That was true in "the before times," and it's true now.

A classic clip from "the before times":

"We are not defenders anymore. We are warriors.... We will finish this on 'America First' conditions of Trump's choosing..."

Sunrise.

"Retirement Plan."

An Oscar-nominated short, by John Kelly:

And here's David Sedaris brilliantly admiring it, in "The Dream of Finishing One’s To-Do List in 'Retirement Plan'/In John Kelly’s animated short film, narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, nothing’s off limits when it comes to thinking about the future—particularly when there’s so much left to do" (The New Yorker):

Sunrise — 6:12, 6:25, 6:33, 6:35.

We had a nice little snow yesterday afternoon, as you can see in Photo #4, the one with the sun popping. My favorite in this set though is #1. I love the "lake smoke." Photos ##2 and 3 speak for themselves with those loud colors. #2 is what I call a broiler. I like the bumpy embers. In #3, the bumps have smoothed out and cooled off.

Write about whatever you like in the comments.

And here's Meade's view, with the sun really popping:

"I think that rock has been purposely dialed down in the culture.... All I know is I saw the gravity shift...."

"This gets wizard behind the curtain, right? Somebody's going to say, 'Well, how do you know who was the wizard behind the curtain?' All I know is I saw the gravity shift. Okay? If you were at MTV or around MTV in 1997–98, suddenly they decided rock was out—right when rock was still very, very high up—and it was replaced by rap. They immediately changed their standards and practices. Things that weren't allowed were suddenly allowed; people were waving guns. Okay, so some people assert that the CIA was involved in all that—again, above my pay grade—but I saw it happen. I did witness it happen. And of course great music came out of it. So it's not like a barren wasteland where something was pushed in to replace something else. Qualitative things and great artists came in, but there was this overt shift. I saw it happen. And then now... rap seems to be waning in terms of its cultural influence. Pop is completely dominant. Rock is probably the most dominant ticket-selling thing in the Western world, and yet there's almost no representation of rock in culture. So why do we have that schism? I think they purposely dialed down the ability of rock stars to have a voice in the culture...."

Says Billy Corgan:

"[Trump] said he would be willing to negotiate but that if Iran was not serious, he would order an overwhelming military attack."

"He did give diplomacy a chance, but ultimately, he was not willing to simply put a fresh coat of paint on Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal; he wanted serious indications that Iran was committing to giving up its quest for a nuclear weapon. When it was clear they were not, he followed through on his threat. Many past presidents have said that 'all options are on the table' with regard to Iran. Trump meant it...."

Writes Philip Klein in "Donald Trump Wasn’t Bluffing on Iran" (National Review).

From the comments over there: "How Barack Obama must feel now, having tried sucking up to the Ayatollah, then bribing him (as did Biden later), and now finally realizing, after mocking Trump and denouncing Trump and lying about Trump, that the president who will be remembered as being truly consequential, is Trump. Sleep well, President Obama. Trump got him."

Which causes another commenter to quote this:

"When a spectator shouted that banning clapping was 'undemocratic,' the mayor countered that 'clapping for some and not all is not democratic'..."

"... and that 'we have to allow for people to feel safe to say what they feel.' The mayor’s attempt at enforcing her idea of civility only prompted more shouting, after which she said: 'I’m not going to argue. If I hear any more clapping or disruption from the crowd, I will have to unfortunately have you all removed.' 'Do it now! Do it to me!' David Reed, 77, a Takoma Park resident, yelled, according to the city’s video recording of the meeting. More applause followed. 'You’re not the dictator of the council!' Paul Huebner, 75, a retired project manager, shouted. 'This is outrageous!'... The kerfuffle prompted a robust discussion among the lawmakers about civility and First Amendment rights that spilled into subsequent meetings and online discussions over the next two weeks...."

From "A mayor ordered no clapping at a city meeting. Applause did not follow. The Takoma Park, Maryland, mayor’s order that people not clap during a public meeting led to insults and even a poll" (WaPo).

It's funny that the mayor used the word "democratic" to refer to responding to every person and every idea equally. It strikes me as the very opposite of democracy. In democracy, people choose, we express favoritism, and the person that gets the most support obtains power to impose it on others.

"Across Iran crowds took to the streets, playing music, honking car horns and cheering. Fireworks were set off and residents applauded at their windows."

"Raha, 42, who lives in the capital, said she had spent 'years' dreaming of news of the leader’s death, 'but it was nothing like the dreams I had imagined. I’m laughing, crying and shouting. The killer of my dreams, the killer of my youth, the killer of Iran’s most beautiful children is no longer breathing... I feel exhausted, like a soldier who has fought for hours and is suddenly told that the enemy is dead. I want to sleep for days — a deep, heavy sleep.' Alireza, 42, who also lives in the city, was similarly thrilled after US-Israeli missile strikes hit Khamenei’s compound on Saturday. 'I wish that in those moments when his residence was attacked and the rubble fell on him, he stayed alive for a few minutes — that he suffered, that he felt pain — remembering all the suffering he gave to millions of Iranians over all these years,' he said."

From "Fear turns to joy as ordinary Iranians see off Ayatollah Khamenei/There was smoke and a sound. We looked up. Did they kill Khamenei, they asked" (London Times).

Sunrise — 6:07, 6:29, 6:31, 6:35.

When the sunrise photographs do not include the sun, it's either because no photo with the sun was among the best photos in the set or because the sun failed to pop. It's back there behind the clouds, we can trust, but the clouds are blocking the popping. Today was one of those days when the clouds won out. They seemed thin and wispy enough that we couldn't know until a few minutes after the sunrise time, and we waited out the time in the bitter cold.

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

"Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran..."

"... but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS. He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us. As I said last night, 'Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!' Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves. That process should soon be starting in that, not only the death of Khamenei but the Country has been, in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated. The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!

"Thank you for your attention to this matter.

"PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"

At Truth Social.

"You told me to buy a pony/But all I wanted was you..."

"Ayatollah is dead, Israel says/Body of Ali Khamenei has been found amid US-Israeli bombing, according to officials."

The London Times reports.

"Go get your stuff. Stop whining."

"When do we send them an airmail message?"

Question answered: February 28, 2026.

Nearly 20 years later.

"I might be a Democrat, but in this specific case, the president is absolutely correct to do these kinds of actions."

'BIZZARRE': Senator John Fetterman calls out his fellow Democrats who don't agree with the U.S. and Israel's strike on Iran:

"I'd like to remind my colleague over in the House that Iran massacred 30,000 of their own people... This war is not about the Iranian people. It's about… pic.twitter.com/jL7D49PKX3

— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 28, 2026

Senator Fetterman: "I'd like to remind my colleague over in the House that Iran massacred 30,000 of their own people.... This war is not about the Iranian people. It's about this poisonous regime. And that's why I'm proud to stand with our military. I'm proud to stand with Israel. I might be a Democrat, but in this specific case, the President is absolutely correct to do these kinds of actions. And now we have Israel's back. And now, that's why it's entirely the path for peace in that region. How many treaties? How much negotiation? I never thought they would work. Iran has only ever responded to these kinds of thing[s]. And now, here we are right now, and we have the opportunity. Real peace. And to change their way committed to trying to destroy Israel and destabilizing the entire region."

Fetterman is a little brain damaged, and I like the ring of truth in the unusualness of his expression. I like: "And now, here we are right now."