Exclusive numbers on how Biden’s SOTU played

POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington.

Feb 13, 2023 View in browser   By Eli Okun President Joe Biden's speech didn't make a big splash with voters, but Democrats benefited more than Republicans. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo SURVEY SAYS — President JOE BIDEN has been riding a wave of fairly favorable media coverage after his State of the Union last week, when he seemed to corner Republicans into agreeing not to cut Social Security and Medicare. But his speech has made less of a splash with voters. New POLITICO/Morning Consult polling finds the electorate’s assessment of Biden across 23 character traits to be largely unchanged from before SOTU. Under the hood, there are some indications in our survey that Biden’s speech boosted the Democratic Party relative to the GOP, at least among those who watched (only 47% tuned in to at least part of the address, in line with last year). For one thing, voters who watched the speech rated Biden more favorably on several measures — his mental fitness, his strong leadership, etc. — than voters overall. A majority of people who watched think Republicans will try to cut entitlements (56%), compared to 46% of voters overall — the exact narrative the White House is trying to drive. When it came to appealing to voters in the middle, Biden beat Arkansas Gov. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, who delivered the GOP response. Among those who watched Biden’s and Sanders’ speeches, more called hers divisive (56% to 48%) and extreme (54% to 41%) than his. The heckling from some Republicans during the speech didn’t play well, either: Fifty-four percent of voters say that when members of Congress disagree with the State of the Union, they should stay silent. Read the poll’s full toplines … Crosstabs THE TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS — A judge ruled this morning that parts of the Fulton County, Ga., special grand jury report investigating the efforts to overturn the 2020 election will be made public Thursday. It’ll be a big moment for one of the most aggressive DONALD TRUMP probes in the works. But beyond the introduction and conclusion, most of the report will remain secret, following a court battle between media groups (for transparency) and DA FANI WILLIS (for privacy). The judge wrote that the disclosure “may not be convenient for the pacing of the District Attorney’s investigation,” but “the compelling public interest in these proceedings and the unquestionable value and importance of transparency require their release.” The jurors had recommended that the report, which urges indictments and raises concerns about witnesses lying under oath, be published. (What we’ll see on Thursday won’t name names.) More from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friends in high places: When Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) was forced to testify before the grand jury, his legal expense fund got hefty contributions from his Senate GOP colleagues, Raw Story’s Jordan Green scooped. Graham got $78,000 in total in December from Sens. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.), JOHN BOOZMAN (R-Ark.), MIKE CRAPO (R-Idaho), STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.), JOHN HOEVEN (R-N.D.), JAMES LANKFORD (R-Okla.), SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.), KEVIN CRAMER (R-N.D.) and CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa). BIG MEDIA MOVE — YAMICHE ALCINDOR will leave her role as moderator of PBS’ “Washington Week” later this month to focus on her NBC work and memoir. Good Monday afternoon, and thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.   We’re spilling the tea (and drinking tons of it in our newsroom) in U.K. politics with our latest newsletter, London Playbook PM. Get to know all the movers and shakers in Westminster and never miss a beat of British politics with a free subscription. Don’t miss out, we’ve got some exciting moves coming. Sign up today.     ALL POLITICS 2024 WATCH — Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) is moving closer to jumping into the presidential race, trying out a message “focused on unity and optimism,” WSJ’s Eliza Collins reports. Even people close to him aren’t sure if it’s a pitch the GOP base really wants to hear, despite Scott’s conservatism. But he has events lined up this month in South Carolina and Iowa, with a busy schedule to follow in the coming months. In a crowded field, bolstering his name ID could be a central early challenge. Barrasso, Senate GOP Conference chair: “I think a RONALD REAGAN ‘Morning in America’ hopeful America vision is one that Tim has, lives and breathes and is really needed in our country.” IF YOU’RE NOT FIRST, YOU’RE LAST — New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU told The Dispatch’s Andrew Egger, David Drucker and Audrey Fahlberg that the state won’t move its first-in-the-nation presidential primary, DNC be damned. (The high-profile clash is ultimately the secretary of state’s call, not the governor’s, but he feels the same way.) POLL POSITION — There’s been plenty of chatter about whether Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS could flame out in the presidential race like SCOTT WALKER in 2016. But NYT’s Nate Cohn writes that it’s not really an apt comparison, as DeSantis starts off with a much stronger position in the early polls — 32% nationally, compared to Walker’s 7%. Statistically, DeSantis is in rarefied air, attracting support at the level of BARACK OBAMA or Reagan — and he’s done so without a family name or other pre-existing benefit. “The simplest explanation for his unusual popularity is that Republicans haven’t just liked what he’s done, but also that they’ve liked what they’ve seen and heard of Mr. DeSantis himself.” ANGLE TO WATCH — Thanks to constitutional limits, Trump could serve only one more term if he’s elected to the presidency in 2024 — a ticking clock that could present a vulnerability for other Republican contenders to exploit, NBC’s Allan Smith, Jonathan Allen and Natasha Korecki report. Not many people have hit Trump on the term limit issue yet, and it remains to be seen if it would resonate with voters. But MIKE POMPEO did indicate on New Hampshire radio that Republicans should pick somebody who can lead for eight years. And Trump’s restriction would also raise the stakes for his VP choice. AMERICA AND THE WORLD RED ZEPPELIN — China today accused the U.S. of flying its own surveillance balloons over China — eliciting a swift denial from the NSC. The spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry claimed that more than 10 U.S. balloons had illegally orbited China since last year, dismissing the American response to recent flying objects as “an overreaction of overexertion.” But NSC spokesperson ADRIENNE WATSON said the U.S. doesn’t operate spy balloons over China, which she said is “scrambling to do damage control.” — NYT’s Chris Buckley examines the role of WU ZHE, a scientist who seems to have played a key role in China’s balloon program and whose companies the U.S. blacklisted last week. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN is considering a meeting with top Chinese diplomat WANG YI at the Munich Security Conference this week, Bloomberg’s Peter Martin and Jennifer Jacobs scooped. That would be their first discussion in person after the balloon led Blinken to call off a trip to Beijing in which he planned to meet with Chinese President XI JINPING. SPY GAMES — “Former FBI agent’s side work puts bureau under new scrutiny,” by WaPo’s Shane Harris, Rosalind Helderman and Catherine Belton: “An examination of [CHARLES] McGONIGAL’s adventures reveals a wild tale but few clear answers so far. He appears at times to have acted for and against Russian interests. McGonigal’s alleged crimes ultimately may reveal more about the conflicts of interest that agents face as they seek to capitalize on their government careers.”   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     CONGRESS McCARTHY MAKING MOVES, PART I — Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY will lead a House GOP delegation to the southern border near Tucson on Thursday, including a CBP tour by air. He’ll be joined by Reps. LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER (R-Ore.), JUAN CISCOMANI (R-Ariz.), JEN KIGGANS (R-Va.) and DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-Wis.). Jonathan Martin notes that between this trip and Ciscomani’s appointment to the Appropriations Committee, McCarthy is making a play to keep the Arizonan from getting recruited to run for Senate. McCARTHY MAKING MOVES, PART II — @SpeakerMcCarthy: “The Architect of the Capitol, BRETT BLANTON, no longer has my confidence to continue in his job. He should resign or President Biden should remove him immediately.” McCARTHY MAKING MOVES, PART III — The House GOP’s “five families” of ideological factions met last week to discuss a plan for raising the debt limit, as McCarthy tries to game out a strategy to keep his conference together, CNN’s Manu Raju and Melania Zanona report. The speaker intends to create a proposal that would garner 218 Republican votes in the House, giving the lie to Democrats’ argument that McCarthy will need Dem votes and undercutting the White House’s insistence on a clean increase. McCarthy is granting more power to the rank and file, rather than imposing a plan from leadership — but getting conservatives and moderates on the same page could be tough. Rep. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-S.D.), chair of the Main Street Caucus: “There’s a level of trust and engagement within the five families that I have not seen in the previous four years.” WHO’S AT DEFAULT — Though the government is likely to run out of money in mid- to late summer, potentially triggering the debt ceiling crisis, the date could arrive as soon as early June, two economists tell HuffPost’s Jonathan Nicholson. In that scenario, Treasury would find out in late April. THE TALENTED MR. SANTOS — Here’s another mystery in Rep. GEORGE SANTOS’ (R-N.Y.) campaign filing: $365,000 in spending without any details, NYT’s Grace Ashford, Alexandra Berzon, Ken Bensinger and Alyce McFadden report. “The mysterious expenditures, which list no recipient and offer no receipts, account for nearly 12 percent of the Santos campaign’s total reported expenses — many times exceeding what is typical for congressional candidates.” WAR IN UKRAINE GET OUT — The U.S. Embassy in Moscow warned that all American citizens should leave Russia immediately due to the war in Ukraine, per Reuters. The U.S. encouraged “increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions.” The State Department last issued such a warning in September. THE PANDEMIC THE VACCINE PICTURE — The U.S. is going to purchase an additional 1.5 million coronavirus vaccine doses from Novavax, WSJ’s Liz Essley Whyte and Stephanie Armour scooped. The company didn’t provide details on the price, but the deal is “part of efforts preparing for the end of government purchases and the start of a commercial market for the shots.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY TWO AMERICAS — Red and blue states are veering in opposite directions over history instruction in schools: Several Democratic-led states are newly mandating courses in Black, Latino or other ethnic studies, while some Republican leaders are clamping down on the ways race is taught, WaPo’s Hannah Natanson reports. The trends are “setting up a uniquely American division over how we teach our past.” Related read: “The College Board’s Rocky Path, Through Florida, to the A.P. Black Studies Course,” by NYT’s Anemona Hartocollis, Dana Goldstein and Stephanie Saul PLAYBOOKERS MEDIA MOVES — CNN’s PR team is adding Shani George as VP of comms and Molly Gannon as senior director of comms. Both were previously at WaPo. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Shuwanza Goff is now with the federal government relations team at Cornerstone Government Affairs. She previously was deputy assistant to the president/deputy director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs and House liaison. TRANSITIONS — Lauren Stimpert is starting as senior counsel for the House Judiciary Committee under Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). She previously was counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. … Jake Parker is now a professional staff member on the House select committee on China. He previously was a policy adviser for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). … Jason Peña is now a legislative assistant for Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). He previously was a program manager for the policing and public safety initiative and legal policy programs at the Manhattan Institute. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Whitney VanMeter, VP of political affairs at UPS, and Rick VanMeter, founder of Prevail Communications and a Roger Wicker alum, welcomed Lindy Browning VanMeter on Thursday. She joins big sister Billie and big brother Franklin. Pic  Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.   Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza Eli Okun @eliokun Garrett Ross @garrett_ross   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters Follow us

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California Today: What’s next for Santa Cruz’s most iconic promenade

After winter storms toppled bits of West Cliff Drive into the ocean, the seaside town grapples with how to fight erosion.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story February 13, 2023 By Soumya Karlamangla California Today, Writer Barricades blocking off a crumbling section of West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz in January.Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle, via Associated Press SANTA CRUZ — West Cliff Drive is not a typical neighborhood thoroughfare. High above the glittering blue waters of Monterey Bay, where surfers and seals bob in the waves, the small two-lane road hugs the surprisingly close edge of the cliffs. On a recent morning, a couple rode a two-seater bicycle along the roadway, soaking in the expansive views of the Pacific Ocean. A group wearing puffer jackets teetered on an impressive outcropping 40 feet above the water to snap a photo. This 2.7-mile promenade attracts thousands of joggers, sightseers, cyclists and surfers each day. For many who live in Santa Cruz, the corridor feels like an essential part of the identity of the funky beach city, about 75 miles south of San Francisco and home to 62,000 people. "It's so much more than a road," said Hilary Bryant, a former mayor of Santa Cruz. "Tourists come here and they go to West Cliff Drive — it's like our front yard." But the recent high-profile winter storms in California hit the region particularly hard, splitting the Capitola Wharf in half and prompting mudslides that shut down two freeways. Along West Cliff Drive, 20-foot-tall waves dragged chunks of the roadway into the sea, closing parts of the road for at least another six months. The extensive destruction has forced the city to think about how to adapt to an increasingly eroding coastline as sea levels rise and storms become more violent — something many Santa Cruz residents had seen as hypothetical or as an issue to be dealt with in the distant future. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT "This was sort of a wake-up call," said Gary Griggs, a professor of earth sciences who has taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz, since the 1960s. "I've never seen this much damage this quickly in my 55 years here. So it's time to step back and say, 'This is what's coming.'" A majority of the state's coast is lined by cliffs — and most of them are eroding. According to a study published in September, an average of two inches of California's coast dribbles into the sea every year, though in some spots, like Eureka, it can be 10 times that amount. This trend will only increase as oceans rise and storms become more powerful this century. That means many eyes are on Santa Cruz, as it decides how to tackle the problem of West Cliff Drive. There aren't any easy solutions. Among the possibilities: further bolster the cliffside with seawalls or boulders to preserve the two-lane road; narrow it to one lane to make room for the retreating coastline; or close it to cars altogether. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT No decisions, or even proposals, have been made yet, but the future of West Cliff has dominated chitchat around Santa Cruz lately, said Fran Grayson, who owns Steamer Lane Supply, a cafe on West Cliff Drive overlooking the water. "People are talking about it and stressing about it," Grayson told me. That's especially true among the surfers who treasure the breaks off West Cliff that helped make Santa Cruz a worldwide surfing destination. The damage from the recent storms to West Cliff Drive will cost $13 million to repair, the city manager, Matt Huffaker, said, and without additional steps, the Santa Cruz coastline could sustain as much as $1 billion in erosion and other climate-related damage by the end of the century. "We can't simply build back in the same way," he said. As I walked along West Cliff Drive recently, savoring the salty air, pedestrians peered over plastic barriers to get a better look at a spot where the asphalt had crumbled into the sea. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Gretchen Bach, who lives on a stretch of West Cliff that was among the hardest hit by the storms, said the impacts had not been all bad. True, closing one lane of the road has meant fewer parking options for her and her neighbors, but also less car traffic and more breathing room for people on foot. "People stop and talk to each other, there's just more space — it's like our community meeting place," Bach, who works as a real estate agent, told me. "I'd trade that for parking any day." Debates similar to the one around West Cliff Drive are likely to play out across California in the coming decades as the effects of climate change take their toll. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, some 200,000 Californians and almost $17 billion in residential and commercial buildings are at risk from coastal flooding alone. Without intervention, many highways, airports and recreational beaches will be damaged or destroyed. In Santa Cruz, the reality of coastal erosion and climate change seemed to have sunk in among residents who treasure West Cliff Drive. "If we do nothing, at some point, there will be nothing to protect and save," Bryant said. For more: How to spend a perfect weekend in Santa Cruz. Subscribe Today We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times with this special offer. Mia Bonta during a news conference in Sacramento last year.Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press The rest of the news The Bontas: Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, the wife of the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, has been tapped to lead a budget committee that oversees his agency's spending, a decision that some political experts say is ethically questionable, KCRA reports. Education: How educators secretly remove students with disabilities from school. Albert Okura: He built a California fast-food chain, opened a McDonald's museum and restored a historic town on Route 66. Okura died last month at age 71. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Strike-authorization vote: Members of the union that represents most nonteaching employees in Los Angeles schools, including bus drivers and cafeteria workers, overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, The Los Angeles Times reports. Clergy sex abuse: The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego may declare bankruptcy in the coming months because of legal costs regarding some 400 lawsuits that accused priests and others of sexually abusing children, The Associated Press reports. CENTRAL CALIFORNIA Highway 1 reopening: Weeks after storms closed a stretch of Highway 1 south of Big Sur, Caltrans reopened much of the road to traffic over the weekend. But portions of the highway will remain closed, The Los Angeles Times reports. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Cal Poly Humboldt: Because of a severe housing shortage, hundreds of Cal Poly Humboldt students will live in hotels this fall, Jefferson Public Radio reports. Santa Rosa restaurant: One girl's TikTok about her parents' empty Santa Rosa restaurant went viral. Now customers are coming, The Press-Democrat reports. San Francisco: "The Daily" covered how the City by the Bay's downtown became the emptiest in America. Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. What we're eating Beans and greens alla vodka. Where we're traveling Today's tip comes from Edward Lebowitz: "For a challenging but beautiful walk in San Francisco, I love the stairways that lead to Marshall's Beach, which you access from the Presidio. The bird's-eye views of the ocean and Golden Gate from above are equaled only by the views and sounds of the waves, giant cargo ships and shore birds you get when you arrive at sea level. Once I was lucky enough to arrive at low tide and walked east to directly underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, which was thrilling." Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. Tell us We're looking for recommendations for where to see the best art in California. What galleries have you visited over and over? Which exhibits do you insist on taking all out-of-town visitors? Email us at CAToday@nytimes.com with your suggestions, and a few lines on why it's your pick. Adali Schell for The New York Times And before you go, some good news For many young people, their first car grants them a freedom to explore their city on an intimate level, with their windows down and music blasting — and away from the prying eyes of parents. The photographer Adali Schell, 21, grew up in Los Angeles and spent last summer documenting the members of his creative community in their cars. Finding a place to belong "feels so scarce" in Los Angeles, Adali said. But in the confines of an old Mercedes-Benz (now powered by vegetable oil), a former taxi cab, a beat-up Volvo and a "mom" car, this group of artists and students found "a stronger sense of self and sense of security." Kerry Parker, 15, and Pilot Lee, 19, told The New York Times that they can spend hours driving around the city with no destination in mind, blasting Thievery Corporation, Radiohead and Aphex Twin and grooving on the same wavelength. "It doesn't matter where you are," Kerry said. "It's just the company." See more from Adali's stunning photo essay. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword. Briana Scalia and Maia Coleman contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for California Today from The New York Times. To stop receiving California Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, manage your email preferences. 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