News Nuggets 202

A swan with its cygnet in the River Exe in Exeter, England from the Daily Telegraph

The Five Pillars of Obama's Foreign Policy from Time Magazine

"What is known now, however, is the outline of Obama's operating philosophy of world affairs, a set of principles and assumptions that were only hinted at during the protracted presidential campaign. So what is the new Obama Doctrine? Here are five of its central pillars:"

Medvedev Under Obama's Charm from the Moscow Times [in English]

"U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip to Moscow was an impressive diplomatic performance. Obama was able to establish what he called a “tone of mutual respect” without yielding any ground on matters of principle. Even though the visit was short on concrete deliverables, it may well prove to be a pivotal event that will define the character of U.S.-Russian relations for the next four to eight years."

Russia is Still a Declining Power (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post

"Russia today often seems to combine the worst aspects of a free market and a command economy. It has the dealmaking and corruption of the new capitalism, and the top-heavy bureaucratic inefficiency of the old communism. The result is an economy that seems stuck in second gear, even as those of the nations Russia sees as its peers -- Brazil, India and China -- continue to accelerate."

Ignatius is very much on-target with this analysis.

In a similar vein:

China's One Hundred Years of Ineptitude from Foreign Policy Magazine

"The unrest in Xinjiang and arrest of a foreign corporate executive show that China is not ready to lead."

The North Korean Nuclear Test: The Russian Reaction from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

"There's a growing consensus in Moscow that North Korea's behavior is posing a threat to regional security and Russia's national interests. The following circumstances are making Moscow particularly uneasy:"

Goodbye Iraq and Good Luck (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times

"Talabani’s joke seemed to have been directed as much to his fellow Iraqis as to Admiral Mullen. My translation: “Everyone here has a history, and it’s mostly painful. We Iraqis love to tell our histories. And the more we do, the better they get. But with you Americans leaving, we need to decide: Do we keep telling our stories, or do we figure out how to settle our differences?”"

Ghana: Obama Visits a Hopeful Nation on a Troubles 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."

Ghana's Finest Hour from the Ghanaian Times

"If the official reason given for the choice of this country above all others is anything to go by, then Ghanaians have earned the honour of Obama’s choice. From 1992, the people have practiced democracy the way it is practiced anywhere – add or subtract the few negatives."

The Audacity of the Pope (Ross Douthat) from the New York Times

"The pope is not a Democrat or a Republican, and his vision doesn’t fit the normal categories of American politics.  But Benedict’s encyclical is nothing if not political. ... It links the dignity of labor to the sanctity of marriage. It praises the redistribution of wealth while emphasizing the importance of decentralized governance. It connects the despoiling of the environment to the mass destruction of human embryos."

'Obama is Like the Messiah': Africans React to Obama's visit to Ghana from the [Manchester] Guardian

Africans give their opinions of Barack Obama as he makes his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president.

Independent's Day from Newsweek

"Obama doesn't want to look back, but Attorney General Eric Holder may probe Bush-era torture anyway."

The Real Court Radicals (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"This week's hearings on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court represent the opening skirmish in a long-term struggle to challenge the escalating activism of an increasingly conservative judiciary."

The Balance Begins to Tip Against Cheney (John Nichols) from the Nation

"Dick Cheney's accountability moment may finally be arriving.  After years of pulling punches, Democrats in the Senate are throwing them at Cheney, following the revelation that the man who operated as something akin to a co-president during George Bush's first term ordered the CIA to withhold information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress."

She Broke the GOP and Now She Owns It (Frank Rich) from the New York Times

"No less than 71 percent of Republicans said they would vote for her for president. That overwhelming majority isn’t just the “base” of the Republican Party that liberals and conservatives alike tend to ghettoize as a rump backwater minority. It is the party, or pretty much what remains of it in the Barack Obama era."

Republican Pundits Open Fire on Palin from the Los Angeles Times

"Since announcing her resignation, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been pummeled by critics who have called her incoherent, a quitter, a joke and a "political train wreck."  And those were fellow Republicans talking.

Palin's Long March to a Short-Notice Resignation from the New York Times

"Nick Ayers, arrived with a memorandum containing firm counsel, ... : Make a long-term schedule and stick to it, have staff members set aside ample and inviolable family time to replenish your spirits, and build a coherent home-state agenda that creates jobs and ensures re-election.  Like so much of the advice sent Ms. Palin’s way by influential supporters, it appeared to be happily received and then largely discarded."

Palin Leads the Right into a Reality TV Vortex (Andrew Sullivan) from the Times [of London]

"The reality of Sarah Palin is that politics is a means to her higher goal: celebrity. Every action she takes is designed to make sense . . . if you believe that government is really a version of a reality show."

White House 'Dirty Tricks' Torpedo Palin from the Times [of London]

"Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate, has accused members of President Barack Obama’s administration of a dirty tricks campaign to derail her political career."

The Art of the Political Comeback from the New York Times

"How far can a major political party fall?  It’s a question Republicans seem determined to test these days."