Feb. 15, 2022: War, money and politics

All eyes in Washington are turned east, as Russia claims it’s open to a diplomatic solution but could still invade Ukraine any day. The Biden administration is preparing for the worst — practicing numerous response scenarios, according to WaPo — and moving its limited Kyiv embassy presence west in case of an invasion. And there was a time when he was considered the model for Democrats looking to flip red seats blue: a former Marine who ran on a centrist platform and won a district Donald Trump carried by 20 points. Today, our Philly-based Pennsylvania politics guru Holly Otterbein spotlights Rep. Conor Lamb's struggle to catch fire with the Democratic base in the Pennsylvania Senate primary, one of the party’s best pickup opportunities this fall. Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook. Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.