Foreign desk: Boris Johnson Is the Hero Britain Needs

“Boris Johnson really doesn’t fit the commentariat’s view of what a [prime minister] should be,” observes Tim Montgomerie at The Telegraph, namely a career politician with a carefully manicured persona. The media “feast on his gaffes but miss what his many admirers in the country see — a long-term commitment to Brexit, to great infrastructure projects, to keeping taxes down and to home ownership.” Too often, what the “elite class is interested in gets covered, and it’s a fake, imbalanced account of times and challenges.” But Johnson could change that if he continues “focusing on Britain’s long-term potential” and eschewing conventional wisdom as he has for much of his career.

Conservative: ‘Obstruction’ Case Weaker Than Dems Think

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testifies Wednesday before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, giving Democrats “a chance to breathe life into the Mueller report,” notes The Washington Examiner’s Byron York. Dems on Judiciary, especially, “believe they can make an overwhelming case against Trump” on obstruction of justice, but York is doubtful. For starters, “the Mueller investigation was not actually obstructed by the president, and neither was the FBI Trump-Russia investigation that preceded it.” Plus, “Mueller could never establish that the underlying crime he was assigned to investigate — conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia — actually took place.” Finally, the report itself includes “compelling arguments against . . . obstruction allegations.” Bottom line: “Without the sort of solid, incontrovertible evidence they can sell to the public, Democrats face an uphill climb, no matter how much attention the Mueller hearing attracts.”

Restrictionist: The Real Horror at the Border



The crisis at the southern border has nothing to do with the “misleading images and scandalous, politically motivated allegations” of mistreatment at the hands of the Border Patrol, asserts Brian Lonergan at American Greatness. Instead, the gravest abuse comes from cartels who rent children to fake families, “who use the children to gain entry into the United States.” And yet it appears that “a criminal syndicate using children as immigration mules is of no great importance” to Democrats or open-borders Republicans. But their brand of “compassion” telegraphs a perverse message: “Get to the US border with a child in tow and you’re good as in” — a clear recipe for the exploitation of children.

From the left: Trump’s 2020 Achilles Heel

President Trump, Harry Enten contends at CNN, looks to be repeating his 2016 strategy of increasing “unfavorable ratings of his Democratic rival,” banking on “an electoral college/popular vote split” and creating controversy with charged comments to “drive up turnout even more among groups favorable toward” him. But Enten doubts “a campaign of hardline immigration policies” will do the trick when Trump’s “approval ratings remain negative,” and “a lot of things can go wrong.” He’ll aim “to make the Democratic nominee a liberal out-of-touch candidate,” but his won behavior “risks raising turnout among nonwhite voters,” which could turn big states like Texas and Arizona blue. In short, “it remains unclear if Trump can compensate for his unpopularity by demonizing” his opponent.

Culture watch: Don’t Touch Bond’s Sex

James Bond “is an incredibly well-written, specifically developed character, both in Ian Fleming’s novel series and the adaptations,” enthuses Paulina Enck at The Federalist. “His masculinity, and how it affects how he relates to the world and to women, is a major aspect of the persona.” But now fans fear that Lashana Lynch’s casting as 007 in the next film — Daniel Craig’s Bond will appear but has retired the iconic call sign — is “paving the way for a lefty’s dream and a Bond fan’s nightmare: a female-helmed James Bond.” That would be a mistake, not least for the film’s bottom line: It’s an attempt at “virtue-signaling to score cheap points in a #MeToo era but will ultimately fall flat under the weight of a classic character.”

— Compiled by Ashley Allen & Sohrab Ahmari