News Nuggets 259

Another good dog-and-cat picture from last week.

Trusting the President on Afghanistan (Editorial) from Forbes Magazine

"Americans give their presidents latitude in the conduct of foreign affairs when they trust them. Perhaps surprisingly, given Hillary Clinton and John McCain's attacks on his foreign policy credentials during the campaign and the Republicans' relentless pummeling of late, many of them trust Obama on the next steps."

British Military Leader Called Bush Team "Arrogant" "Group of Martians" Over Iraq from the [London] Daily Telegraph via Raw Story

"Hostility between US and British military leaders in Iraq ran deep, with one describing his US counterparts as "group of Martians," the Daily Telegraph reported Monday, citing leaked government documents."

Democrats Step Up Push for Votes on Health Care from the New York Times

"Anxious that Saturday’s party-line Senate vote to open debate on a health care overhaul gives them little maneuvering room, Obama administration officials and their Congressional allies are stepping up overtures to select Senate Republicans in hopes of winning their ultimate support."

A Milestone in the Health Care Journey (Ronald Brownstein) from the Atlantic

A must-read for understanding the cost question on the health care overhaul.

""I'm sort of a known skeptic on this stuff," Gruber told me. "My summary is it's really hard to figure out how to bend the cost curve, but I can't think of a thing to try that they didn't try. They really make the best effort anyone has ever made. Everything is in here....I can't think of anything I'd do that they are not doing in the bill. You couldn't have done better than they are doing.""

Economists Say Stimulus Package Rescued Economy from Free Fall from Politics Daily

"Liberal and conservative economists continue to duel over whether the big economic stimulus package enacted last year has worked, but the New York Times says that with a quarter of the stimulus money spent over the last nine months, “more dispassionate analysts” have concluded the measure rescued an economy in free fall even if it has not created as many jobs as hoped."

Leveraging the Obama Brand (Matt Bai) from the New York Times Sunday Magazine

"The president may not have coattails. But when it comes to persuading Congress, he has something more important."

Manufactured Failure #1 & Manufactured Failure #2: The Press, Obama, Asia (James Fallows) from the Atlantic

"Two colleagues with different perspectives -- from each other's, and sometimes from my own -- marvel at how badly the mainstream American press distorted the picture of what happened during Barack Obama's just-ended tour of Asia.

Fallows has gone OFF on this topic -- hear his comments on NPR's "On the Media" program this morning HERE. Another reason (if one was needed) to avoid cable news at all cost!

They Chose Celebrity (Ross Douthat) from the New York Times

"Before the 2008 election, almost nobody outside Alaska and Arkansas had heard of Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee. But in a long and crowded campaign season, they were the only Republican politicians who inspired any genuine enthusiasm. ... They seemed unready for high office, and owed their appeal more to personality than to substance. This meant that both faced the same post-election choice. Did they want to take their newfound eminence seriously? Or did they want to cash in on their celebrity? ... So far, they’ve chosen celebrity"

Republicans Eye the Tiger of Populism from the New York Times

"Palin's return brought into focus a big question for Republicans as they watched the intense reactions she generated: To what extent should they try to energize their electoral prospects by hitching themselves to the powerful but volatile strain of populism — characterized by anti-elitism and deep skepticism of government — that Ms. Palin has come to embody?"

Beware the powerful fantasy world of Sarah Palin, Warrior Princess (Andrew Sullivan) from the Times [of London]

"The US vice-presidential candidate’s memoir mocks the truth, but she remains a possible future American leader."

Rep. Joe Sestak trying to outrun Sen. Arlen Specter from the Los Angeles Times

"The Democrat has arguably the hardest-working staff on Capitol Hill scrambling to meet requests from constituents, lobbyists and the media. Now he wants to beat Pennsylvania's longest-serving senator."

HILLARY NUGGET!! [A MUST-READ!]

How Hillary Became Secretary of State from Vogue Magazine

""I was stunned after the election when President Obama asked me to consider this," she says. "I really was very unconvinced. I did not think it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to do it. I just really had a lot of doubts, and I kept suggesting other people: Well, how about this person! How about that person! This one would be really good! But then a friend of mine called me and basically said, 'How would you have felt if you'd been elected and you'd called him and asked him to do this?' And that really made a big impression on me."

PATERNITY NUGGET!!

Who Knew I was Not the Father from the New York Times Sunday Magazine

"DNA testing has led more men to discover that their children are not biologically theirs. Families are upended, and so is the law."