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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

News Nuggets 121

The Long Bien Market in Hanoi -- from the New York Times


Poll: Obama Earns Nation's Trust from Politico

"Three months into his presidency, Barack Obama stands out as perhaps the most trusted figure in American politics. "


The Ghost at the Conference Table from the Economist [of London]

"Concerning the Summit of the Americas,  Barack Obama will inject a new cordiality into relations with Latin America, but he will be judged on what he does on Cuba."


Obama's Task at Summit of the Americas: R-E-S-P-E-C-T from El Caribe [of the Dominican Republic in English]

"Obama's challenge will be to strengthen the U.S. presence in the region, lend his ear to the most urgent needs of his colleagues and take part in the search for alternative solutions in the areas of education, health and combating narco-trafficking, while at the same time, maintaining an attitude of respect for the autonomy of each country."


Obama Signals More Active Response to Piracy Threat from the New York Times

"The operation on the waters off the Horn of Africa may presage a more complicated challenge for a president already trying to end a war in Iraq and win another in Afghanistan. Somali pirates have vowed to take revenge on Americans, and they have demonstrated in recent months their ability to seize ships from all sorts of countries with impunity."


Americans Most Confident in Obama on Economy from the Gallup Organization

"Over two-thirds of Americans -- 71% -- have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in President Obama to do or recommend the right thing for the economy, a much higher level of confidence than is given to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, or the Democratic or Republican leaders in Congress."


Exxon vs. Obama from Portfolio Magazine

"The biggest oil company in the world is also the most resistant to the shift to green energy. The White House seems determined to make Exxon Mobil’s life miserable."

GLAD to hear it!


Steering Detroit Straight from New York Magazine

"Obama and Geithner got it right: What’s good for GM is not necessarily what’s good for America."


Failures to Communicate (Richard Cohen) from the Washington Post

"Bush's tenure was truly remarkable. He left office with the lowest presidential poll ratings in 60 years, two wars begun and not ended, and the deepest recession since the Great Depression. If it's true that we learn from our mistakes, Bush's eight years represent a bonanza of lessons."


Easter with my Conservative Family (Andrew Sullivan) from the Atlantic

A sad and scary Easter in the Sullivan household.

"I celebrated Easter yesterday with my ultra conservative family. I love my family but they have gone so far to the right over the past 8 years that it is difficult to have any sort of discussion with them. I think they are typical of conservatives born in the baby boom. They are scarred by the culture wars and the hatred they have for the left is so strong that it becomes disturbing."


GOP Scrambles to Show it has Ideas from Politico

"Republicans have struggled to emerge from the president’s shadow during his early months in the Oval Office. When they have, it has often been through their overwhelming opposition to his signature measures. GOP leaders don’t shy from those votes but want to insulate themselves from the “party of no”.


The Peasant Mentality Lives on in America (Matt Taibbi) from True/Slant

Some of you may know Taibbi from his hilarious political pieces for Rolling Stone.

"This must be a terrible time to be a right-winger. A vicious paradox has been thrust upon the once-ascendant conservatives. On the one hand they are out of power, and so must necessarily rail against the Obama administration. On the other hand they have to vilify, as dangerous anticapitalist activity, the grass-roots protests against the Geithner bailouts and the excess of companies like AIG. That leaves them with no recourse but to dream up wholesale lunacies along the lines of Glenn Beck’s recent “Fascism With a Happy Face” rants."


The Republican Ruins (Robert Shrum) from The Week

"In politics, the smaller a party gets, the more small-minded it becomes. With only 24 percent of voters identifying themselves as Republicans, the GOP is being miniaturized. The pettiness plays out on every conceivable stage—from the do-nothing, denounce-everything Republican minority in Congress to the do-anything Republican attempt to overturn the Senate election in Minnesota, and the say-anything attacks of right-wing talk radio."


GOP Withering Away in California Heat? from Politico

Wouldn't be surprised if this happens in many other states soon.

"The emerging consensus in both parties is that a highly gerrymandered state that rarely sees tightly contested House races is about to see a surge of them in 2010, largely because of erosion in the Republican base. "


Chamber of Commerce Aims to Work with Obama from Politico

NOT SURPRISING given how far off the reservation the GOP has gone in their embrace of Limbaugh populism.

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has found a surprising number of places to agree with President Barack Obama’s agenda and is negotiating the specifics in daily meetings with the Treasury Department, the West Wing and Capitol Hill. "


MSNBC Considering Giving Chuck Todd his Own Show from the New York Observer

I think Chuck would be a very good choice for his own program.

"According to multiple network sources, MSNBC is in the process of developing a weekend political show to be moderated by Chuck Todd, the network’s political director and chief White House correspondent."


Hoping to Meet Obama from the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian

"Eight-year-old Joshua Monroe-Brown displays his one-track CD, titled Three Cheers For President Obama. Joshua is hoping to meet US president Barack Obama when he arrives in T&T for the fifth Summit of the Americas."


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