News Nuggets 269

From the "cute pet" department -- from Andrew Sullivan's blog at the Atlantic

Obama's Foreign Engagement Scorecard (James Traub) from the New York Times

"The math required to hand out such grades is complicated. Engagement can fail with its immediate object, but still reshape the climate of opinion; it can succeed in warming deep-frozen relations, but at a cost not worth paying. ... Where, then, over the last year, has engagement actually advanced America’s national interest?"

Examining the Copenhagen Accord (Michael Levi) from the Council on Foreign Relations

"The Copenhagen Accord, agreed to on Saturday, is neither earth-shattering nor a failure. It avoids an international political mess that appeared likely as late as Friday afternoon. It falls short of expectations mainly because expectations had been ratcheted up far beyond what could be realistically supported. It is a meaningful step forward, but its ultimate value remains to be determined."

I KNEW IT!! Does this sound familiar or what? We should come up with a new term for those who are opposite to the realists out there: the UNREALISTS. They certainly are unreal -- as in unbelievable!

A Change of Weather from the National Journal

"The Obama administration is working climate-change awareness and countermeasures into a vast array of endeavors."

For those who are wondering where the healthcare bill is going from here, Nate Silver has an excellent summary of what's ahead and the still possible breakdowns that might occur.

A Bill Fit for a Kennedy (Adam Clymer) from the Daily Beast

"As Senate Democrats proclaimed the 60 votes needed to pass health-care reform, Kennedy biographer Adam Clymer says the late senator would have backed this bill."

Deal on Health Bill is Reached from the Washington Post

"Senate Democrats said Saturday that they had closed ranks in support of legislation to overhaul the nation's health-care system, ending months of internal division and clearing a path for quick Senate passage of President Obama's top domestic policy priority."

The New Senate Health Bill Explainer: Changes You Should Know About from Politics Daily

"Nobody said passing legislation was easy, but we’re here to help you make sense of it all. Below is a breakdown of what the big changes are today, what’s ahead for health reform in Washington, and what it means for you."

Howard Dean Walks it Back from Newsweek

"After setting off a political firestorm last week for telling legislators to kill the Senate health-care bill, progressive leader Howard Dean walked back his opposition this morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Instead of advising Congress to vote against the bill for not containing the public option, as he stridently declared on Thursday, Dean said the Senate bill had actually “improved” over the past few week..."

Why I Believe in This Bill (Jacob Hacker, a notable policy expert) from the New Republic

"It would therefore be tempting for me to side with Howard Dean and other progressive critics who say that health care reform should now be killed. It would be tempting, but it would be wrong. Since the first campaign for publicly guaranteed health insurance in the early twentieth century, opportunities for serious health reform have come only rarely and fleetingly. If this opportunity passes, it will be very long before the chance arrives again."

The Republican Health Care Blunder from the New Republic

"The United States is on the doorstep of comprehensive health care reform. It's a staggering achievement, about which I'll have more to say later. but the under-appreciated thing that strikes me at the moment is that it never would have happened if the Republican Party had played its cards right."

Democrats Take on the Liebermonster (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post

Milbank -- ever the contrarian.

"To them he has become a Liebermonster, loathed as if he were Dick Cheney -- maybe more, because liberals feel betrayed by Lieberman."

CIMATE CHANGE NUGGET!!

For India and China, A Climate Clash with Their Own Destiny from the New York Times

"The Copenhagen fault lines can be interpreted not as India and China versus the global rich, but rather China 1800 versus China 1978 versus China 2100."