News Nuggets 201

Molten lava hardening up near a volcano in Hawaii from National Geographic

Obama's Global Audience (Ronald Brownstein) from the National Journal

"Fully 61 percent of those polled outside of the United States said they trust Obama "to do the right thing regarding world affairs." No other leader had the trust of more than 40 percent of respondents outside the leader's home country. In France, Germany, and Great Britain, approximately nine out of 10 respondents said they trust Obama, putting more faith in him than in their own leaders. He ran about as well in Africa and Asia."

Ghana: Obama Visits a Hopeful Nation on a Troubled Continent from the Brookings Institution

"There is perhaps no region in the world in which there is a greater gap between the high expectations of an Obama presidency and knowledge of his administration's intended policies than in sub-Saharan Africa. That gap should narrow when President Obama makes a fleeting visit to Ghana on July 10 and 11."

The GOP's Paranoid Foreign Policy from Newsweek

LOTS of truth in this analysis!

"To the Republicans, everything Barack Obama does is a sign of weakness and a threat to American sovereignty."

New Pew Research Report on the Views of Science and Scientists

VERY interesting findings here.  These are just a few:

"About three-quarters (76%) say a major problem for science is that news reports fail to distinguish between findings that are well-founded and those that are not. ... American attitudes toward science finds that 55% of scientists identify as Democrats, while 32% identify as independents and just 6% say they are Republicans. When the leanings of independents are considered, fully 81% identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, compared with 12% who either identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP."

White House Press Corps Happy to Attend Obama's Off-the-Record BBQ from Gawker.com

"Reporters from roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House last weekend. Why didn't you know that? Because they were sworn to secrecy."

There is something very Franklin-Roosevelt-like in the way Obama deals with the press corps, and, while I guess I should be upset by this story, I actually find it very amusing -- especially when you consider the terrible evening the ONE POOL REPORTER had.

Young, Gifted and Slack (David Swerdlick) from The Root

Truly one of the most ON-TARGET observations made yet about Sarah Palin!

"Gov. Sarah Palin isn’t using the title “Reverend” yet, but that could be her next move. She’s well on her way to becoming a conservative Rev. Al Sharpton in whiteface. "

A Farewell to Harms (Peggy Noonan) from the Wall Street Journal

""She makes the Republican Party look inclusive." She makes the party look stupid, a party of the easily manipulated.  "She shows our ingenuous interest in all classes." She shows your cynicism"

A Midlife Meltdown for Palin (Ellen Goodman) from the Boston Globe

MAN!  Ellen hits it today!

"There was the frozen smile, the vulnerability, the odd grab bag of unfiltered, unedited, unintelligible un-reasons scattered across the lawn. Palin quit to avoid being a quitter. She cut and ran as an act of self-sacrifice. She left her job to serve her country.  It wasn’t like watching a car wreck. It was like watching a midlife meltdown."

Can Artur Davis Win in Alabama from Politics Daily

A black politician whose career very much mirrors Obama's.

"The question that arises in nearly every conversation about Davis and the governorship in Alabama is, "Can he win?" With few exceptions, nobody seems to know."

Party of Franken, Party of Palin (Joe Conason) from Truthdig.org

"The new senator from Minnesota is a comedian, writer and actor who lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and raised a lot of money from friends in Hollywood. The departing governor of Alaska is a hockey mom from a small backwoods town who likes to hunt and fish. Yet today, Al Franken looks wholesomely mainstream, while Sarah Palin seems headed for the tabloid fringe."

Michelle Obama: No Comment on Italian Leader's Escapades from the McClatchy News Service

This story is a little weirder than the headline suggests.  There was a lot here to have "no comment" about.

"First lady Michelle Obama and other spouses came as planned — and found themselves touring with a former topless model-turned-government minister filling in as the official hostess for the prime minister's soon-to-be ex-wife."