'The buck stops with me'

President Biden is taking some heat for what many have called a "disastrous" military withdrawal in Afghanistan. In his address to the American people yesterday, he stood by his decision to leave the troubled country, saying, "No amount of military force would ever deliver a stable and secure Afghanistan." While admitting that the Taliban takeover unfolded more quickly than anticipated, he argued that it only reinforces that the decision to leave was the right one. "I'm deeply saddened by the facts we now face," Biden said. "But I do not regret my decision to end America's war fighting in Afghanistan." Meanwhile, the cleanup has already begun. —Defense One

• — Ramping up the military airlift. The U.S. will be able to evacuate approximately 5,000 to 9,000 people from Afghanistan per day, with as many as one departing flight per hour within the next 24 hours, Pentagon Press Sec. John Kirby said this morning. The Pentagon also acknowledged the extraordinary efforts of a U.S. air crew that chose not to force out hundreds of Afghans who scrambled over a half-closed back ramp and instead got as many aboard as they could, rescuing a total of 640 evacuees. —Defense One
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• — More money for relocation. Biden has allocated $500 million in additional funds for relocating Afghan refugees, including applicants for special immigrant visas. The funds are intended for "the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs of refugees, victims of conflict, and other persons at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan." Biden's order was made through the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, which allows a president to help displaced people during global conflicts. —The Hill
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• — World prepares for wave of migration. France and Germany will push for a European plan to tackle migration flows from Afghanistan, French President Emmanuel Macron said last night, having spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier in the day. While insisting on the need to tackle illegal migration, Macron promised that France "will continue to do its duty to protect those who are most at risk" and stands ready to take part in "an international effort, organized and just." —Politico

Kupchan: Maybe Biden is right

"The ineffectiveness and collapse of Afghanistan's military and governing institutions largely substantiates Biden's skepticism that U.S.-led efforts to prop up the government in Kabul would ever enable it to stand on its own feet. The international community has spent nearly 20 years, many thousands of lives, and trillions of dollars to do good by Afghanistan—taking down al-Qaeda; beating back the Taliban; supporting, advising, training, and equipping the Afghan military; bolstering governing institutions; and investing in the country's civil society. Significant progress was made, but not enough. As the Taliban's speedy advance has revealed, even two decades of steady support failed to create Afghan institutions capable of holding their own." —Charles Kupchan on Project Syndicate

Charles Kupchan is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, and the author of "Isolationism: A History of America's Efforts to Shield Itself from the World."

MORE: Afghanistan's military collapse: Illicit deals with Taliban and mass desertions —The Washington Post

Get your booster shot

The Biden Administration has decided that most Americans should get a coronavirus booster vaccination eight months after they received their second shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. Recipients of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will require an additional dose as well, but officials are waiting for the results of the company's two-dose clinical trial later this month. The first boosters will likely go to nursing home residents, healthcare workers, and emergency workers, followed by older and otherwise vulnerable people who received the earliest vaccinations, and then the general population. The decision is based in part on new data from Israel that shows an erosion of vaccine efficacy over time against COVID-19 infections in general and against severe disease among the elderly. —The New York Times

MORE: New York mandates vaccines for healthcare workers amid Delta variant surge —Forbes

Newsom in campaign mode

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is using increasingly stark language in the final month of a tight recall election. A campaign ad released yesterday says it's "a matter of life or death" that voters keep him in office, as the state battles the coronavirus pandemic and the effects of climate change. A number of Republicans have stepped up to challenge Newsom, but the governor is increasingly targeting talk show host Larry Elder. Seeking to become California's first Black governor, Elder has said that Newsom "quashed our freedoms" with his actions during the pandemic while "allowing crime and homelessness to balloon." It would be a remarkable turn for voters to remove Newsom after he scored the largest margin of victory in modern state history three years ago. Mail-in voting already has started, and Election Day is Sept. 14. Stay tuned. —ABC News

MORE: California voters split on recall election: poll —The Hill

Smyth: Putin's unpopular party's plan to win

"Despite its dismal approval rating, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ruling political party can—and likely will—win a constitutional majority in September's legislative elections. ... A decade ago, United Russia's 27% approval rating would have been dire news for the Kremlin. But in 2012, Putin ordered a new election law that would elect half the parliament in U.S.-style congressional districts. This change gave the Presidential Administration, which manages Russian elections from the Kremlin, a new toolkit to determine electoral outcomes. In 2016, Putin's party won over 90% of these new districts. A repeat performance by United Russia in September would maintain Putin's parliamentary bloc—made up of seats won in district races plus seats won in national party-based contests—at 66%. That's enough votes to enact constitutional change." —Regina Smyth on The Conversation

Regina Smyth is a professor of political science at Indiana University.

MORE: Nathan Hodge: Outreach to the Taliban pays dividends to Putin —CNN

Focus on voting and elections

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, the leader of the Justice Department's civil rights division, told a House Judiciary subcommittee yesterday that "voting rights are under pressure to an extent that has not been seen since the Civil Rights era."

• — The hearing was held as House Democrats prepare to introduce legislation to revive the "preclearance" regime of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Preclearance required localities with a history of racial voting discrimination to get approval from the DOJ or a federal court for any election procedure changes.
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• — Since a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that gutted the preclearance provisions of the VRA, Clarke testified, "we have seen an upsurge in changes to voting laws that make it more difficult for minority citizens to vote, and that is even before we confront a round of decennial redistricting where jurisdictions may draw new maps that have the purpose or effect of diluting or retrogressing minority voting strength."
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• — Legislation to restore the preclearance process—a bill known as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act—is expected to be taken up by the House later this month. Clarke urged Congress to pass the legislation to "restore and improve" the VRA and enhance the DOJ's ability to protect the right to vote. —CNN

Daley & Goldstein: America's 'democracy deserts'

"In Wisconsin, for example, voters handed Democrats every statewide race in 2018 and 203,000 more votes for the state assembly—but the tilted Republican map handed Republicans 63 of the 99 seats nevertheless. ... These are the stakes right now as redistricting begins anew. [W]e must not allow redistricting to unfold quickly behind closed doors. We must keep this process transparent and mapmakers accountable. Find your state's redistricting hearing schedule online, join the meetings (many will be held virtually), and consider submitting testimony about why fair maps matter." —David Daley & Gaby Goldstein in The Guardian

David Daley is the author of "Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy" and "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count." Gaby Goldstein is a co-founder of Sister District.

MORE: Democrats look to state courts as redistricting battle heats up —The Hill

Derek M. of Washington, I wish your story about your son could go everywhere. I'm sorry for how he suffered. I'm sorry for all of this suffering. Especially sorry for how much, as a nation, we have brought on ourselves. —Ann B., South Carolina

From Derek M. of Washington: "I have watched my hard-line Republican friends rail against the vaccine, and against mask mandates set forth by Gov. Inslee, and all in the name of 'freedom' and 'their rights' and 'not allowing the government to control them.'" Total freedom has a name: it is called chaos (sounds like plenty of that was going on in the ER). The idea that any of us can be totally free is ludicrous, because that quite naturally means you will be intruding on other people's rights.

Secondly, along with freedom comes RESPONSIBILITY. Not to yourself but to OTHERS. What we are seeing in our society is the natural consequences of our "me first" mentality. I want what I want regardless of how it affects others. This is not a liberal or conservative thing; it is a God thing. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." —Mark 12:30-31 —Tom A., Oregon

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