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Friday, November 21, 2008

News Nuggets 56


The Lame-Duck Economy (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"The prospects for the economy look much grimmer now than they did as little as a week or two ago."

The Insider's Crusade (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"And yet as much as I want to resent these overeducated Achievatrons (not to mention the incursion of a French-style government dominated by highly trained Enarchs), I find myself tremendously impressed by the Obama transition."

"As he wrapped up his second week as President-elect, it was clear that Obama was taking the long view in both diplomacy and politics. How else to explain the fact that he had all but offered the most prestigious job in his Cabinet to a woman whose foreign policy experience he once dismissed as consisting of having tea with ambassadors?"

What's Next for Obama's Network? (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post
"Over and over, Obama has spoken of change coming from "the bottom up," and the organization he built down to the precinct and neighborhood level could be an agent of that change. But how?"

Rebooting the Right (Ramesh Ponnuru) from Time Magazine
"Republicans are feuding in the wake of the November election. But they are not descending into civil war. That would be too tidy. What is unfolding instead is an overlapping series of Republican civil wars, each with its own theme."

The Bush GOP's Fatal Contraction from the National Journal
"The Republican Party's greatest problem is that it doesn't appear to be reaching much of anybody who isn't already watching Fox News. Bush leaves behind a party that looks less like a coalition than a clubhouse."

"Barack Obama's own transition team could not have hoped for a better outcome. In fact, there are signs it did more than just hope."

"Looking over the list of top players on President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, one gets the sense that serious people are coming back to power."

The Very Image of Affirmation from the Washington Post
"Michelle Obama emerged, long and lean, from a black limousine that pulled up at the White House the other day. ... As she stood there, many black women on this side of the White House gate saw something else in Michelle Obama that sunny afternoon: bits and pieces of themselves."

Deciphering 'Yes We Can' for the Leaders of France from Liberation [of France in English]
"In preferring 'we' to 'I' - and unity over division - Obama offers us a lesson. … 'Yes we can' - that was the phrase. But in politics, saying the words is already to have commenced action. It's the slogan that ignited America. So can it be exported? Let us decipher it for our politicians."

The New Old South from The Root
"My grandmother moved North in the early 1950s seeking better opportunities as a black woman. I moved back South four years ago in search of cheaper property, warmer weather and less traffic. Having two white women clean my house was an added bonus: Welcome to the New South!!"

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