Good Thursday morning, I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing,

sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase and Company. And I'm Jake Sherman. Do not miss Carl Rove on the op-ed

page of the Wall Street Journal today, bashing Steve Bannon. Two other interesting stories about Congress.

John Bresdenhan and Anna Palmer go deep on ailing Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, writing that he is

frail and disoriented,

but yesterday said he is not retiring. The 79-year-old returned to the Senate but was unable to answer

whether he would remain chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and at one point needed a staffer

to remind him where the Senate chamber is located. During a vote, Cochran voted yes despite being

told by an aide to vote no.

He kept flashing the thumbs up sign despite several Republican staffers repeatedly telling him

leadership wanted a no vote. Several moments passed before he realized he was voting the wrong way,

and then he changed his vote. Cochran is hardly the first aging senator to face questions

about his health and fitness for duty. Former Senator Robert Byrd and

former Senator Strom Thurman both hung on despite their ailing health and advanced age. In the Department

of This Job Stings, Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin's scoop that Ohio Republican Pat Tibery is planning

to resign early and take a job at a business group in his home state. A major sign of frustration considering his rank

and also position as a senior member of the House Wades and Means Committee,

which is responsible for writing tax legislation.

Eliana Johnson has the big picture story this morning

on how Trump keeps his focus on sideshows,

viewing policy as a diversion from the larger cultural battles

he believes he was elected to fight. And the follow-out continues. The Washington Post has a story

...