Opinion: Syria, and Trumpism on the ballot

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, April 7, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist First, on Syria: Antony Blinken [lays out]( what the United States should do in the wake of last night’s missile attack. The bulk of this morning’s newsletter addresses two upcoming special House elections, the first big elections of the Trump presidency. I wanted to give readers a guide: On Tuesday, voters in Wichita, Kan., and the surrounding counties will vote in a special House election. The following Tuesday, voters in a House district in suburban Atlanta will go to the polls. Both districts lean Republican. The reason that they’re having special elections is that President Trump chose their congressmen, Mike Pompeo of Kansas and [Tom Price]( of Georgia, to serve in his administration. Yet Trump is [sufficiently unpopular]( and Democrats are sufficiently energized that, while a Democratic victory in either race would be a major upset, it’s not out of the question. The Georgia race has received more [national]( [attention]( so far, including [a wave of donations]( and [celebrity get-out-the-vote drives](. It’s [the kind of race]( Democrats will need to win next year to take back the House: a suburban, well-educated district where Trump struggled last year, as [Nate Cohn of The Times]( and [Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight]( have noted. Trump beat Hillary Clinton by fewer than two percentage points, even though Mitt Romney won the district by 23 points in 2012. This House election, on April 18, is a first-round election. It features a large slate of candidates, the top two of whom move onto a June runoff — unless one candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote in the first election and thus becomes the winner. One route to victory for the leading Democrat, a 30-year-old filmmaker and former Congressional aide named [Jon Ossoff]( would be so much Democratic enthusiasm that he clears the 50-percent threshold in round one. Otherwise, the district’s conservative voters will coalesce around whichever Republican finishes second, making Ossoff an underdog in the runoff. Republicans are scared enough to be running ugly ads trying to link Ossoff to Al Qaeda, [as Daniel Nichanian notes]( on Twitter. [In Kansas]( it would be a true shock if the Democrat — a civil-rights lawyer named James Thompson — won. Trump won the district by 27 points. But the race is still worth some attention. Politico’s Elena Schneider [reported]( that national House Republicans have bought last-minute television ads in the district, a sign of nervousness. “Kansas should not be in play,” one Republican in the state said, “but Kansas is in play.” If the Republican, state treasurer Ron Estes, wins by substantially less than 27 points, it would be a sign of party weakness. Up next, after Georgia’s vote: another special election next month, this one in Montana, featuring a Democratic candidate who’s “[a legendary folk singer with a populist flair]( The full Opinion report from The Times follows. A programming note: I’ll be away next week, and a rotating cast of Opinion editors will be writing the newsletter. I think you’ll enjoy hearing from them. I’ll be back April 18. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [After the Missiles, We Need Smart Diplomacy]( By ANTONY J. BLINKEN President Trump did the right thing in striking the Assad regime for using nerve gas in Syria. The hard part comes next. Editorial [Downsizing Mr. Bannon]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD With the removal of an extremist political adviser comes a chance to build a more disciplined National Security Council. Op-Ed Columnist [The Coming Incompetence Crisis]( By DAVID BROOKS What if the Trump administration runs out of errors? Op-Ed Columnist [The Bad, the Worse and the Ugly]( By PAUL KRUGMAN What makes Trump different from the rest of his party? Contributing Op-Ed Writer [The Soul of a Corporation]( By TIMOTHY EGAN Higher purpose with a solid bottom line does not have to be an oxymoron. ADVERTISEMENT Op-Ed Contributor [Stand Up, Paul Ryan, or Step Aside]( By MICKEY EDWARDS The House speaker should serve Congress, not the White House. Op-Ed Contributor [Getting Rid of North Korea’s Dictator, With China’s Help]( By RODERICK MACFARQUHAR Could President Trump be hoping to enlist Beijing in ousting Kim Jong-un? [Physicist John Goodenough, 94, in Boston on Thursday.]( Physicist John Goodenough, 94, in Boston on Thursday. Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times [Sunday Review]( [To Be a Genius, Think Like a 94-Year-Old]( By PAGAN KENNEDY We assume that creativity and innovation belong to the young. We’re wrong. Sunday Review [What ‘White’ Food Meant to a First-Generation Kid]( By LISA KO Processed snacks signified American comfort and belonging. Editorial [The Regulatory Wrecking Ball]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD President Trump has signed 11 deregulatory measures so far. The wreckage is extensive. There are 18 more rollbacks in the pipeline. Editorial Observer [Ecuador Elects World’s Only Head of State in a Wheelchair]( By ERNESTO LONDOÑO Lenín Moreno transformed how Ecuador saw people with disabilities. He now has a bigger bully pulpit. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [newsletters@nytimes.com](mailto:newsletters@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). Dispatch [What Do Donald Trump, Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes Have in Common?]( By SUSAN CHIRA They’ve all been accused of sexual harassment. Op-Ed Contributor [Steve Bannon Isn’t a Genius]( By EZEKIEL KWEKU There’s a difference between having big ideas and actually putting them into practice. Op-Ed Contributor [A Pepsi Commercial’s Lesson for Advertisers]( By NATHANIEL FRIEDMAN It’s no surprise that co-opting a cause for marketing went terribly wrong. Op-Ed Contributor [Offshore Money, Bane of Democracy]( By OLIVER BULLOUGH When London bankers created the Eurobond in the 1960s, control over capital was doomed. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Germany’s First Lady Problem]( By ANNA SAUERBREY Like America, we’re faced with the question: Does she represent who we are, or who we want to be? ADVERTISEMENT Letters [Trump Acts: The U.S. Strike on Syria]( Initial reaction to the American attack on Syria, and more. SIGN UP FOR THE VIETNAM ’67 NEWSLETTER Examining America’s long war in Southeast Asia [through the course]( of a single year. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [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 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018