"I would like us to get the smile back," Sen. Kevin Cramer said in a recent interview.

"I mean, we still are the greatest experiment in political world history. Self-governance requires people of virtue, as Os Guinness puts it, and our virtue needs to be demonstrated in our personalities, not just in our ideals. If I grieve anything, it's that we've become too angry," he continued.

How does Cramer square that statement with his staunch support for former President Donald Trump, a man famous for his incessant ridicule of his critics?

He'll talk about it on this episode of Plain Talk.

Also, the Biden administration seems intent on facilitating the fossil fuel aspirations of nations who aren't so friendly with us - lifting sanctions for Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Iran's oil exports - even as it works to fight energy development here in the United States.

Though, in fairness, Biden's EPA administrator Michael Regan just visited North Dakota and had a lot of encouraging things to say about the state's big bets on carbon capture.

Can this administration be worked with on energy?