News Nuggets 303

Cuatro Cienegas (Four Marshes) wetlands, in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert. From National Geographic.

Russia and US Report Arms Pact Breakthrough from the New York Times

"President Obama and his Russian counterpart, President Dmitri Medvedev, have broken through a logjam in their arms control negotiations and expect to sign a new treaty in Prague next month that would slash American and Russian nuclear arsenals, officials from both nations said Wednesday."

Promise Delivered: Now Can Obama Keep the Momentum? (Joe Klein) from Time Magazine

"The President emphasized a common humanity with his peers, normally an afterthought in the performance art of politics. He appealed to the battered sense of honor and idealism that still resided beneath their scar tissue. He was seeking not only to inspire his colleagues, but to comfort them. I don't think I've ever seen a President do that before."

In Health Bill, Obama Attacks Wealth Inequality (David Leonhardt) from the New York Times

"For all the political and economic uncertainties about health reform, at least one thing seems clear: The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago."

Chairwoman of the Old Boy's Club (Eleanor Clift) from Newsweek

"Pelosi is that rare public official in Washington who, when she says she'll get something done you can take it to the bank, or in the case of health care, to the White House."

The Zeitgeist Shifts (Jonathan Chait) from the New Republic

"The psychology of victory and defeat is a remarkable thing. A week ago, the Democrats were perceived to have an enormous political problem. Their agenda was stalled in Congress. There was a mass groundswell of public anger they had to contend with. Suddenly those problems have been flipped on their head."

Now, A War for Public Opinion (Scot Lehigh) from the Boston Globe

"To win the broader victory needed to secure the law, Democrats need to wage a full-scale persuasion campaign. That means repeatedly reminding people of the protections and benefits the new law will bring them. It also means defending the law against hyperbolic attacks from those who see super-heated opposition as their path back to political power. As Obama showed in the last few weeks, and particularly with his masterful performance at the bipartisan health-care summit, he is eminently capable of that."

Repeal Drive Loses Steam (Ezra Klein) from the Washington Post

"Republicans were using the word "repeal" a lot in the hours after the House voted to pass the health-care reform bill. But as the hours turn to days, they're talking about repeal less, qualifying it more, and even finding themselves mentioning things they like about the bill."

President Obama to Repeal-Minded Republicans: 'Go For It' from The Hill

"With his signature agenda item signed into law, Obama switched from selling the bill to aggressively promoting it during a speech in Iowa City, Iowa, the town where Obama announced his healthcare reform agenda as a candidate in 2007."

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!!

Dems Ready for Repeal Efforts (John Mercurio) from National Journal

"Republicans confidently predict their drive to repeal health care reform will motivate conservatives, energize donors and drive voters to the polls this fall. ... But if Republicans are right, why are Democrats more aggressively pushing the storyline this week? Because apparently they welcome the newest chapter of this yearlong debate."

The GOP's Dirty Health-Care Secret (Matthew Dallek) from the Daily Beast

"Republicans are screaming that Obamacare’s mandates are a “stunning assault on liberty,” as one put it. That’s ironic, since Richard Nixon, Bob Dole, and Bill Frist all embraced the idea."

One Miscalculation Follows Another (Hendrick Hertberg) from the New Yorker

"The Republicans appear to have decided on a slogan for this fall’s midterm election. “Kill The Bill!” having fizzled, they saying they’ll go with “Repeal It!”"

Will Post-Health-Care-Fatigue Syndrome Thwart GOP Plans? (David Corn) from Politics Daily

"It seems that the GOPers will be forced to hold a debate within their own ranks over exactly what sort of repeal campaign to adopt — and that could get messy. ... And Democrats seem eager to take on any Republican repeal effort — and depict Republicans pushing for repeal as in favor of removing the new restrictions on abusive insurance company practices."

House of Anger (Timothy Egan) from the New York Times

"Reagan was all about sunny optimism, and at times bipartisan bonhomie. In him, the American people saw their better half. ... The Republican Party has taken some of the worst elements of Tea Party anger and incorporated them into its own identity."

Vatican Declined to Defrock US Priest Who Abused Boys from the New York Times

"Your Holiness -- there is a cancer on the papacy..."

"Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit."

HAPPY MEAL NUGGET!!

Writer's 'Happy Meal' Refuses to Decompose After One Year from Americablog

"What's a McDonald's Happy Meal look like after it's been sitting outside for a year? Pretty much the same as the day it was made."

Pretty hilarious!!