An Army of One? Debating the 'Obama Effect' from Foreign Policy Magazine
"We asked seven sharp political observers to weigh on whether the "Obama effect" really is inspiring change throughout the world, or whether he is getting credit for developments that would have happened anyway."
The Gospel of Obama (Editorial) from the Jakarta Post [of Indonesia in English]
"Listening to President Obama’s historic speech in Cairo on June 4, I had to conclude that he would go down in the annals of mankind as one of the greatest men ever born, a mahatma, a great soul."
The 'Unencumbered Man' (Michael Tomasky) for the New York Review of Books
An interesting 'big picture' piece on how Obama's agenda is going so far.
"The central fact is that, so far, Obama's coalition is holding together. This is true in the country at large, where his approval ratings, though down several points from the very early days, are still more than high enough to provide him political capital. And it's true among Democrats of all stripes in Washington."
Obama's Mideast Reset (Juan Cole) from the Nation
"Obama clearly won most Egyptians over. According to an instant poll conducted in Egypt by a government think tank, 37 percent believed everything the president said, while 41 percent believed some of it. Only 5 percent rejected the address as a litany of falsehoods."
As Iran Votes, Talk of a Sea Change from the New York Times
"Some Iranians believe that the unruly democratic energies unleashed over the past few weeks could affect this country’s politics no matter who wins. Mr. Ahmadinejad’s radical policies and personal attacks, they say, have galvanized powerful adversaries who will use his own accusations of corruption and mismanagement against him."
Iranians Poised for Change from the Nation
"The people in line were solemn, men and women, some with kids. I do a straw poll, quietly asking voters who they plan to cast their ballots for, and why, and it's clear that at this station at least, it's Mir Hossein Mousavi country."
Obama's Team of Rivals (Charlie Cook) from National Journal
"Looking back, political pros, even the most-partisan Republicans, concede that Obama put together the most sophisticated, brilliant, focused, and disciplined Democratic presidential campaign in history, one worthy of comparison to the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, the gold standard on the GOP side."
Who's Against Democracy Now? (Michael Tomasky, WOW! It's a two-nuggets day for Mike) from the Guardian [of London]
"Yes, of course, Khamenei [the Iranian supreme leader] ultimately calls the shots. But to say that the defeat (should such happen) of a demagogue like Ahmadinejad by voters in Iran would be meaningless is absurd."
Netanyahu Yields on Palestinian Soverignty from the Washington Times
ASTONISHING!! The Washington Times may have an actual SCOOP!
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a major shift, will accept the notion of a Palestinian state -- a policy pushed by the Obama administration but resisted until now."
The Great Unwinding (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"Historians will argue about the Paulson-Geithner-Bernanke reaction, but the economy seems to be stabilizing. And now attention turns to the task of the next decade: slowly unwinding the debt that has built up over the past generation."
Under Obama, Greater Reach for Faith-Based Collaborations from Congressional Quarterly
"President George W. Bush may be forever linked with faith-based initiatives due to his aggressive efforts to allow religious organizations to provide government-funded services. But it's President Obama who could yet turn out to be the chief executive who winds up most expanding the possibilities of government partnering with faith-based groups."
Obama Plan Targets Fallout from Mountaintop Mining from the the Associated Press via the [Charlotte] News and Observer
ANOTHER REASON [if one was needed] why I voted for this guy!
"The Obama administration on Thursday announced steps to reduce the environmental destruction caused in six states by mountaintop coal mining."
The Big Hate (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment."
The Ice Age Cometh (Mike Murphy) from the Time Magazine
I had an excerpt of this in yesterday's nuggets.
"I've made a career out of counting votes, and the numbers tell a clear story; the demographics of America are changing in a way that is deadly for the Republican Party as it exists today. A GOP ice age is on the way."
Tribalistic Self-Absorption (Glenn Greenwald) from Salon
"The most predominant mentality in right-wing discourse finds expression in this form: "I am part of/was born into Group X, and Group X -- my group -- is better than all others yet treated so very unfairly." This claim persists -- indeed, is often intensified -- even when Group X is clearly the strongest, most privileged and most favored group. "
The Case for Getting Off Base (Peggy Noonan) from the Wall Street Journal
"What occasions the question is the USA Today story this week on a Gallup poll saying nearly half the country's Republicans and Republican-leaners can't come up with a name when asked who their party's leader is. ... The poll was a source of, or excuse for, interparty needling (the base likes that) and faux sympathy on cable news (their base likes that too.) What no one notes is the poll makes no sense, or rather makes so much sense that it's not news."
Shift at the Standard? (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest
"News Corp. is selling the Weekly Standard. Is it an early sign that the GOP is ditching neoconservatism?"
Hate Comes Back to the Future from Vanity Fair
"According to the D.H.S. report, law enforcement officials are noticing a spike in the sales of guns and ammunition due to paranoid fears that the new administration or Congress will impose sweeping gun control regulations. Rising unemployment rates, the politicization and radicalization of immigration, and the fact that we have a black president are all serving, according to people who closely follow such things, to encourage the recruitment of angry men and women into extremist causes."
Why the Jews? (Michael Gerson) from the Washington Post
"For some Americans, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are akin to a shameful hobby -- like collecting old racist knickknacks or Nazi memorabilia. But these ideas are not harmless, because they can inspire an angry, obsessed bigot who sets out on a June morning to kill Jews -- and murders an African American man who had a wife and young son. The durability of anti-Semitism is a horrifying marvel of history."
Sasha, Malia and the Remarkable Mr. Obama from Nachrichten [of Switzrland in English]
"For men like Obama, politics is a personal and even existential affair. He is just as committed to the United States as he is to his own daughters. When his tenure ends, it is to them that he will be accountable. Perhaps having a perspective longer than the next election isn't such a bad condition for policy making."
LONG-FORM NEWS NUGGET!!
Rise and Fall: Donald Rumsfeld's Dramatic End from the Washington Post
"As Bush started exploring the notion that significantly more U.S. forces might be needed to enhance security, Rumsfeld remained fixated on finding ways to facilitate the turnover of responsibility to Iraqi troops. It was in this context that the president finally decided to replace Rumsfeld."
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