Obama Puts His Own Mark on Foreign Policy Issues from New York Times
"After 15 months addressing the vexing matters he inherited, Mr. Obama is now aggressively advancing his own vision of foreign policy and defining himself more clearly on the world stage. The 47-nation conference on nuclear security he wrapped up on Tuesday represented a chance to assert proactive leadership rather than simply showing that he is not George W. Bush."
Obama's Nuclear Summit Yields Results He Sought from the McClatchy News Service
"President Barack Obama's nuclear summit of 47 world leaders met two goals as it ended Tuesday: reaching international consensus on the need to keep weapons-grade nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists, and re-establishing U.S. leadership on nonproliferation."
A V-Shaped Boom is Coming (Larry Kudlow) from CNBC
From a deep red conservative pundit.
"Sometimes you have to take out your political lenses and look at the actual statistics to get a true picture of the health of the American economy. Right now, those statistics are saying a modest cyclical rebound following a very deep downturn could actually be turning into a full-fledged, V-shaped, recovery boom between now and year-end."
A Sprig of Verbena and the Gifts of a Great Teacher (Kathleen Parker) from the Washington Post
An unusually moving column from Ms. Parker today.
One of President Obama's consistent education themes has been the wish that every child cross paths with that one teacher who hits the light switch and changes one's life. Each time he expresses some iteration of that thought, I suspect thousands or millions think briefly of the person who held that distinction in their life. The light master. Or, in my case, the one who extended an imaginary sprig of verbena and, holding it to his nose, inhaled deeply in a gesture of solidarity with William Faulkner. That scene took place in my 11th-grade English class..."
Here's the original article about Obama's teacher from the Honolulu Star Bulletin from 2007. It is also quite moving.
Leahy Sees Confirmation for Supreme Court Nominee from Reuters
"U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said on Tuesday that any of the possible Supreme Court nominees now being considered by President Barack Obama would win Senate confirmation."
We'll see.
Papal Resignations (Richard McBrien) from National Catholic Reporter
"Unless and until a bishop loses the support of a significant number of his priests, as Cardinal Law apparently did, the Vatican will put no pressure on him to resign because of his mishandling of this problem."
This author assumes that Benedict will only resign if forced. I think he will chose to go on his own accord.
Divided Loyalties: An Incredible Situation (Joan Chittister) from the National Catholic Reporter
"For all the certainty about the facts of the case, there is still an aura of discontent everywhere about the situation surrounding clerical sex abuse in the church. No one disputes the data now; everyone disputes the nature of the problem. And worse than that, the data simply keeps piling up on all sides."
Irish Catholic Leader Sean Brady Suffers Suspected Heart Attack from Guardian [of London]
"Embattled cardinal stable in hospital after being taken ill at confirmation ceremony."
What's the Matter with FOX News? (Megan McArdle) from the Atlantic
"I've been reading the debates touched off by Julian Sanchez's post on "a systematic trend toward "epistemic closure" in the modern conservative movement. ... Weirdly, the word I keep coming back to when I read a lot of these discussions is "privilege." ... Conservatives are, not to overlabor the obvious, marginalized in the cultural elite, even though they are powerful in the political elite.
This conversation about 'epistemic closure' of the conservative movement has been quite lively and worth following. McArdle, a conservativ who I RARELY agree with, makes a number of valid points here about the conservative perspective on cultural elites.
HERE's an equally interesting follow-on to the same topic at Julian Sanchez's blog.
"If disagreement is not in itself evidence of malign intent or moral degeneracy, people start feeling an obligation to engage it sincerely—maybe even when it comes from the New York Times. And there is nothing more potentially fatal to the momentum of an insurgency fueled by anger than a conversation."
Republicans in Disarray from Public Policy Polling
"The Republican Party may have a big election year anyway, but Americans sure don't think much of it or its leadership. Only 28% of voters in the country say they approve of the current direction of the GOP with 51% disapproving. Even among voters who identify with the party just 54% say they like where it's headed."
Outcrazying the Crazy: How a Prankster Plans to Infiltrate and Destroy the Tea Party Movement from TalkingPoints Memo
""Our goal is that whenever a tea partier says 'Barack Obama was not born in America,' we're going be right right there next to them saying, 'yeah, in fact he wasn't born on Earth! He's an alien!" Levin explained. He said that by making the tea parties sound like a gathering of crazy people -- his group's goal -- the movement will lose its power."
Building on yesterday's post on this guy, this sounds a lot like Nixon's dirty tricks campaign -- all in plain sight! This also sounds like something that could have really unexpected and perhaps hilarious outcomes. The X factor will be how the Tea Party paranoids react when they see someone getting "out of hand" with racial or over the top statements. Will his "comrades" suddenly attack him? OR does Levin or one of his infiltrators walk among them and say "OH! Look at that guy over there with his racist/sexist/fascist poster!! I'll bet he's one of those infiltrator people!! Somebody needs to take him down!!" We could get really high-schooly and Leven and Co., could walk among them sticking provocative handouts to the backs of the biggest loudmouths! Boy, the various head games he could play on them are almost infinite!!
HERE's a less-amused commentator at the Washington Post.
PBS NUGGET!!
'Frontline' Producer Michael Kirk, Churning Out In-depth Political Documentaries from the Washington Post
"The players interviewed in Tuesday night's hour-long documentary, "Obama's Deal," are seen as if there's a blurry Douglas Sirk film playing in the background. The light is warm, the colors saturated and the room has a wood-paneled, clubby richness."
Kirk's first Frontline episode about Obama can be found HERE.
IRAQ WAR NUGGET!!
How Rumsfeld's Style Scared the Military (Thomas Ricks) from Foreign Policy Magazine
""It's an adversarial style" that Rumsfeld uses, he said. "It can put you on the defensive very, very quickly." He later noted that, "I had a person working for me on the Joint Staff who probably should have worn a diaper every time he went to see Rumsfeld.""
A not very conducive style for getting honest opinions from your military.
SILLY NUCLEAR SUMMIT NUGGET!!
Obama Goes Dancing with All the Heads of State ... in 98 Seconds from the New York Times
Who knew the Times had this kind of sense of humor! My sense is that for Obama the entire two days were like this!
MICHELLE OBAMA VIDEO NUGGET!!
First Lady Michelle Obama Previews Her Mexico Trip from the White House via Utube
Michelle's description of her itinerary along with video of her being greeted by Mexican children is really nice.
HERE's an item describing Michelle's trip to Haiti from Lynn Sweet at Politics Daily
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