When Kevin McCarthy was named Speaker of the House, there was much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments among the commentariat. Rather than follow their lead, I linked to a column encouraging Americans to take a wait-and-see approach to him. I still believe that was the right decision because while McCarthy won’t go down as a top-tier speaker, he won’t go down as the abject horror so many anticipated. After all, he did manage to avoid a default and a government shutdown despite a vanishingly small majority and rather significant odds. 

All this is to say, I intended to feature a similarly sanguine, or at least reserved, column today about McCarthy’s replacement Mike Johnson. The link I’ve chosen is ultimately more reserved than optimistic (don’t let the headline deter you — editors typically have the final say there). In the wake of Johnson’s presser yesterday, during which he ignored a reporter’s question on his not insignificant role contesting the 2020 election, reserved seems appropriate. But he still deserves to do the job before he’s judged for it. So here we go.