Johnson vowed to stay on "heaven forbid" Republicans lost; they lost both chambers; he bowed out by morning.

…(cont) I wrote this down on the 12th — hang on, let me find it — here. "Heaven forbid." That's him, answering a direct question about losing the majority. Not "hoped." Not "wanted to." Intends.

Is "heaven forbid" something a man says about a plan he's already made, or about a question he hasn't let himself answer yet?

I've got a lawnmower blade sitting on a shelf in my garage, next to the toolbox. I've been meaning to get it sharpened since spring. My wife asks about it maybe once a month. I tell her the same thing every time, and I believe it every time I say it. That's the thing about meaning to — it isn't a lie. It just doesn't come with a Tuesday attached. Nothing on the calendar says when.

Seventeen days after that interview, The Hill runs the piece about the hints rattling the conference. Still no Tuesday. Same shelf.

Then November 4th happens, and here's where I get stuck, so bear with me. The morning after Republicans lose the House and the Senate — both chambers, one election — Johnson tells his staff he won't run. Not "reconsidering." Not "taking the week to think it over." Won't. By that same day, Scalise is in the race and Jordan's announced he's in the race, and the two of them are already squaring up over a conference that just lost both chambers on Johnson's watch. And Johnson himself, that same day, is telling reporters the House comes back in 2028.

So three sources had him on the record on the 12th, each one landing on the same word. One source had the party rattled by it on the 29th. Then one morning — not a week of thinking, one morning — that word was finished. What happened, somewhere in the calendar between those dates, that the hints didn't survive?

Oh — before you go. That piece from the 29th, The Hill's, about the hints that rattled the party's leadership outlook. I keep coming back to it, so let me ask you plainly.

Whose hints were those?

Go on, you don't need the page for this one. You already know.

Just the one name. Same as the 12th. Same as this morning.

Intends.