March 23, 2026 - Pensito

Iran Conflict Leaves American Conflicted

March 23, 2026 Buck Banks

90%

A new CBS News poll shows majorities of Americans think it’s important for the U.S. to end the war as soon as possible (92 percent), guarantee the freedom of Iranians (80 percent), end Iran’s nuclear programs for good (73 percent) and end the war without Iran’s current leaders in power (53 percent). Americans overall think that the war is going badly — and, by a 2-to-1 margin, they’re not willing to pay more for gas.

Why Is Scott Bessent Discussing Iran?

March 23, 2026 Buck Banks

“Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.”

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, talking about the Iran War on Meet the Press.

Trump Is Down to Four Bad Options

March 23, 2026 Buck Banks

“Mr Trump’s defenders insist that his rhetorical gymnastics are part of the plan: the president is keeping his options open, and keeping Iran on its toes. To almost everyone else it is clear that America entered this war with a flawed strategy, starting with its failure to anticipate that Iran would close the strait. … With the fighting entering a fourth week, Mr Trump has four options for how to proceed. He can talk, leave, continue or escalate. If he has not yet chosen one, it is because none of them are good.”

And here we thought the Iran War was happening way over there,
In the Middle East, half a world away, so … nothing to fear.
Then the State Department had to blurt
A terrifying Worldwide Caution Alert,
Because, as it turns out, Americans aren’t safe on earth anywhere.

Day: March 23, 2026

Iran Conflict Leaves American Conflicted

90%

Why Is Scott Bessent Discussing Iran?

“Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.”

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, talking about the Iran War on Meet the Press.

Trump Is Down to Four Bad Options

— The Economist

Here, There, Everywhere

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“One woman at a rally in New Jersey told me last week that she was ‘nauseously optimistic.’ That may capture a lot of people’s last-minute jitters.”

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by Axios, on what Democrats feel ahead of the midterm elections.

“I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”

— Former President Bill Clinton, quoted by The Wrap.

“Boy, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It feels like a real desperation play to me, because it has got zero basis in the law.”

— Republican election law expert Ben Ginsberg, quoted by Politico, on the Trump administration’s effort to invalidate Alaska’s election results.

Numerati

3,824

$1.4 billion

-35 points

31%

63% to 38%

KFF Poll: “With the 2026 midterm campaigns in full swing and early voting about to begin, there is a wide enthusiasm gap between partisan voters, with Democratic voters 25 percentage points more likely than Republican voters to say they are ‘more motivated’ than usual to vote (63% vs. 38%).”