Opinion: Happy new year

Get ready for a year dominated by the struggle over a scandal-plagued presidency. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, January 1, 2019 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist It’s been a while since the United States has faced a year like the one that I expect 2019 to be. This year appears as if it will be dominated by presidential scandals — and the question of whether President Trump can survive those scandals. If he does, 2019 could feel a lot like 1998, when President Bill Clinton did indeed survive. If the danger continues to mount for Trump, 2019 could instead end up resembling 1973 or 1974. The presidency of Richard Nixon, of course, did not survive 1974. Tellingly, some senior Republicans now share these expectations for 2019. The Washington Post recently quoted Steve Bannon predicting that this year would be one of “siege warfare” for Trump. [The story]( ran under this headline: “Republican anxiety spikes as Trump faces growing legal and political perils.” To prepare for the coming political battles, I recommend some history — of the battles over the Clinton and Nixon presidencies. Three recent hit podcasts have covered this history, and I enjoyed all of them. Rachel Maddow’s [“Bag Man”]( focuses on Spiro Agnew’s resignation in the midst of Watergate. As she notes, many Americans now have very little knowledge of the Agnew story, and it’s pretty incredible. The other two podcast come from Slate’s Leon Neyfakh. [The first season]( of his podcast “Slow Burn” covered Watergate, and [the second season]( retold the story of Clinton’s many sex scandals, culminating in his impeachment. All three convey a sense of history-making drama, and I suspect we are about to enter another such period. If you want to read a few recent pieces that put the Trump scandals into perspective, I linked to several in [a recent newsletter](. The full Opinion report from The Times follows. [Time to Get Out of Afghanistan]( [A member of the United States Air Force at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. President Trump has decided to pull out about half of the 14,000 American troops there.]( A member of the United States Air Force at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. President Trump has decided to pull out about half of the 14,000 American troops there. Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images By ROBERT D. KAPLAN The United States is spending beyond its means on a mission that might only be helping its strategic rivals. From Our Columnists [Hope for a Green New Year]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Democrats can’t pass legislation yet, but they can get ready for 2021. [2019: The Year of the Wolves]( By DAVID BROOKS Can the Constitution withstand the partisans? [Why Trump Reigns as King Cyrus]( Hulton Archive/Getty Images and Damon Winter/The New York Times By KATHERINE STEWART The Christian right doesn’t like the president only for his judges. They like his style. [In Search of Lost Screen Time]( By PAUL GREENBERG Imagine what we could do with our money, and hours, if we set our phones aside for a year. ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. [Japan: Stop Slaughtering Whales]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD There is no commercial, cultural or scientific justification for killing these magnificent creatures. [1919: The Year of the Crack-Up]( [Soldiers of the Army’s 369th Infantry Regiment, called the Harlem Hellfighters, who received the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action in World War I.]( Soldiers of the Army’s 369th Infantry Regiment, called the Harlem Hellfighters, who received the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action in World War I. Photo12/UIG, via Getty Images By TED WIDMER From the Treaty of Versailles to Prohibition, the events of that year shaped America, and the world, for a century to come. Op-Docs [A Divided Town Seeks Common Ground]( After a town dealt with controversy around a line it painted down its town center in support of police, residents reflect on what has changed—and what has stayed the same. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Frank Bruni’s newsletter.  Go beyond the headlines and behind the curtain with Frank Bruni’s candid reflections on politics, culture, higher education and more every week. [Sign up for Frank Bruni’s email.](  ADVERTISEMENT Letters [Blaming the Democrats]( Readers criticize President Trump for claiming that Democrats were responsible for the deaths of two migrant children. Letters [Punishing Federal Workers for a Political Stalemate]( Readers, including a member of Congress, condemn the president for holding the employees “hostage” to his demand for a border wall. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018