News Nuggets 99

Political Protector is Ever Close at Hand from the New York Times

"The pepperoni and cheese pizzas had been delivered, and a meeting about how to sell President Obama's economic plan was set to begin — not at the White House, but a few blocks away in the seventh-floor apartment of David Axelrod."

Moscow, Tehran and Obama's Bag of Tricks from Financial Times Deutschland [from Germany in English]

"Obama's offer to abandon the U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe is a clever maneuver … the U.S. President has turned the tables. … If Russia feels obliged to carry part of the load, something significant will truly have been achieved"

Obama Quickly Takes Sharp Turn on Foreign Policy from The Hill

"As Obama’s presidential term has buzzed with bailouts, stimulus, the budget and now healthcare reform, his administration has been steadily pressing forward with its plans to “reboot” relationships and distance itself from goals and tactics of the Bush years."

How Obama Plays the Pundits from Politico

"Andrew Rosenthal, The Times’ editorial page director, says the Obama White House has been more “proactive” than the Bush White House was, offering up policy thinkers to more fully explain the administration’s positions — both before and after columns and editorials run."

Miracles Take Time (Bob Herbert) from the New York Times

"There is a weird hysterical quality to some of the recent attacks that suggests an underlying fear or barely suppressed rage. It’s a quality that seems not just unhelpful but unhealthy."

Three Blind Mice (Charles Blow) from the New York Times

"The Republicans have reached a new low, literally. ...  Why? Because the Republicans have dissolved into a querulous lot of nags and naysayers without a voice, a direction or a clue, and we are not amused."

Honeymoon in Hell (Michael Hirsh) from Newsweek

"Despite the tumbling economy, Barack Obama continues to enjoy a honeymoon with the American public in the face of the most trying crisis any newly inaugurated president has encountered since Franklin Delano Roosevelt."

Obama Must Be Bold (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"President Obama faces three overlapping questions: When will middle-of-the-road voters start blaming him for the sick economy? When will he act decisively to deal with the mess that is our banking system? And can he keep managing his political two-step of appealing simultaneously to centrists and progressives?  He has to confront all three at once."

Insanely Out of Balance, the Republicans Are All Set to Fail (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian [of London]

Tomasky is right on the mark here!

"Limbaugh is a dominant figure because the Grand Old Party is no longer a political party in the usual American sense. It is an ideological faction."

His Words, the President's Voice from the Chicago Tribune

"Behind a president defined more by his oratory than any political figure in a generation is chief speechwriter Jon Favreau, whose work with Obama began soon after the Illinois senator arrived in Washington four years ago and who knows the president's ideas and rhythms so well that Obama has called him a mind-reader."

Standing O's Greet Clinton in Brussels from Politico

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton electrified a group of young European government workers and activists Friday in an hour-long town-hall-style meeting in which she promised more cooperation with Europe and voiced regret at Bush administration positions on climate change and other issues."

Specter Faces Make-or-Break Shift as Challenge Looms from The Hill

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) does not have the fall-back option of running as an independent should he lose his 2010 primary election, giving the senior lawmaker strong incentive to abandon his party this year. "

SOCIETY NUGGET!

Runaway Daughters from Salon

"After her teenagers hit the streets, author Debra Gwartney faced desperation and panic. She talks about why her children left -- and how they finally returned."

ANOTHER SOCIETY NUGGET!!

Fewer Americans Call Themselves Christians from the Washington Post

"The percentage of Americans who call themselves Christians has dropped dramatically over the past two decades, and those who do are increasingly identifying themselves without traditional denomination labels, according to a major study of U.S. religion being released today."