What is one to make of Jen Psaki? Conservatives find the White House press secretary decidedly off-putting, an avatar for an unearned smugness that suffuses the Biden administration. This agitation goes beyond ideological hostility to fiscal profligacy, identity fetishism, “leading from behind,” or any of the other liberal lurches embraced by the White House. Joe Biden campaigned on returning stability, competency, and decency to Washington, but his administration has been characterized by bumbling and skulduggery. Psaki is the face of an administration that approaches public justification in a manner that manages somehow to be simultaneously high- and underhanded. Despite this, Psaki enjoys the evident respect of the press corps, which is the sine qua non of her job. This, likewise, cannot be reduced to ideology. Are the press in the tank for Democrats? Of course. But that doesn’t mean they’re in the tank for this Democrat. Biden-critical stories do better numbers than Biden hagiography, even if a healthy share of eyeballs comes from the frenetic hate-clicking of media-gourmandizing liberals. Kremlinology makes for easy copy. Now, media bias certainly shows up in the slack cut for Psaki when it comes to answering for her boss. As the president has become more remote, the burden of availability has fallen on Psaki. This forces Psaki to be as conspicuous as any of her recent predecessors, or more so. Her gestures, verbal crutches, appearance, and penchant for tense-shifting evasions...