Beyond Iran Sanctions, Plans B, C, D and ..." (David Sanger) from the New York Times
"What, exactly, does President Obama plan to do if, as everyone expects, these sanctions fail, just as the previous three did? There is a Plan B — actually, a Plan B, C, and D — parts of which are already unfolding across the Persian Gulf. The administration does not talk about them much, at least publicly..."
I had suspected that the Obama folks had more in their holster than we've seen so far -- but I suspect even more will be needed due to what Beinart says in the next item.
Obama Foreign Policy 2.0 (Peter Beinart) from Time Magazine
A tough but fair analysis of where we are.
"Despite Obama's personal popularity, American soft power isn't going up; it's going down. The reason is the financial crisis."
I think Beinart is right on the money with this connection of American power and the recession. This connection was much more apparent during the 1930s and the Depression's impact on FDR's foreign policy (or lack thereof). As in the 1930s, national leaders all over the world make dramatic reassessments of US (and western) power and act accordingly.
Modern Folly, Ancient Wisdom (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times
"What Israel in turn must realize — before it is too late — is that the real threat it faces today is not one of destruction but of de-legitimization. Its tactical lurches, often violent, do not add up to a strategy; they have resulted in a shocking erosion of Israel’s stature."
A very hard-hitting (and on-the-money) assessment concerning where Israel finds itself these days.
Sanctions Were the Key to Ending Apartheid. They Can Help Bring Democracy to Iran from Slate
"A growing number of key opinion-makers and activists in the green movement support biting sanctions on the Iranian energy sector. They believe sanctions would strengthen Iran's struggling democratic movement and exert greater pressure on the Iranian regime's unlawful nuclear-enrichment program."
Is Afghanistan 'Medieval'? (Thomas Barfield) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Afghans shouldn't be insulted when Westerners say the country reminds them of the Middle Ages. The religious and political struggles of that era can offer some useful lessons."
Senate Rejects Republican Effort to Thwart Carbon Limits from the New York Times
"The Senate on Thursday defeated a Republican-led effort to prevent the EPA from curbing greenhouse gases as lawmakers road-tested arguments for a future fight over climate change legislation."
David Souter Finally Tells Americans to Grow Up (Dahlia Lithwick) from Slate
"Almost two weeks ago, former Supreme Court Justice David Souter gave the commencement speech at Harvard, a speech that's been variously described by some of my favorite legal writers as a denunciation of "originalism," a defense of "living constitutionalism," and a suggestion that "judicial activism" is a game both liberals and conservatives can play. But the striking aspect of Souter's remarkable speech is that it rejected virtually all of these easy ideological labels and addressed itself to two much simpler questions: Is the meaning of the Constitution clear? And is the task of divining that meaning easy?"
Under Pressure, Teachers Tamper with Test Scores from the New York Times
"Of all the forms of academic cheating, none may be as startling as educators tampering with children’s standardized tests. But investigations in Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Virginia and elsewhere this year have pointed to cheating by educators."
Great ... Just great. You start with test-scoring - a bad mode of assessing teacher-effectiveness in the first place -- and then make job-status and pay contingent on it, this is what you get! The quality of teaching continues to plummet -- and that's even WITH the cheating going on. I fear for our young people and how they're going to compete in the future.
Obama Up in 2012 Contests from Public Policy Polling
"Barack Obama leads all of his potential Republican opponents in hypothetical 2012 match ups, and it's becoming increasingly clear from this monthly poll that there are two tiers of GOP candidates when it comes to electability. — Polling close to Obama are Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney."
Saint Sarah (Lisa Miller) from Newsweek
"To white evangelical women, Sarah Palin is a modern-day prophet, preaching God, flag, and family—while remaking the religious right in her own image."
With this long-form analysis, it is sad to see what's happening to a once-great political party. The GOP just keeps getting worse.
The Thirty-Most-at-Risk House Seats (Tim Sahd) from the National Journal
"Since we last published our rankings, we witnessed momentous primaries, poured over new polling data, and, of course, saw two very important special elections take place. All of those elements have served to shake up our new list."
The New GOP Model: Silent Candidates from the National Journal
"As GOPers seek to make the midterm elections a referendum on the unpopular Dem majority, the party is delivering a message to several of its candidates: Shut up."
There is something almost evil about this strategy. The GOP strategists know that if they allow their candidates to actually say what they believe, they're doomed. Winning at all costs is all that seems to matter.
The Tea Party and GOP Establishment: Dance of Hypocrisy (David Corn) from Politics Daily
"Another problem confronts the Tea Party and Republicans angling to exploit its political energy: how this anti-establishment crew can cooperate with political insiders without coming across as hypocritical opportunists. "
It is my observation that many (if not most) of the folks running for office on the Tea Party wave ARE political opportunists.
Tea Party is Creating Waves for Republicans (Gary Younge) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Today it looks increasingly like the Republican establishment has to decide whether to come in under the Tea Party or oppose it from the outside."
NV-Sen: Sharron Angle's World of Paranoia (Gabriel Winant) from Salon
"You have to say this for the Tea Party movement: it's giving some color and flavor to an depressing recession-era election year. Glenn Beck's fantasy world doesn’t seem like a great place to live, but it's certainly making for an interesting vacation -- so long as we get to go home."
SC-Sen: Clyburn Says S.C. Dem Senate Candidate is a 'Plant,' Calls for Probe from The Hill
"The man nominated as Democrats' candidate for Senate in South Carolina might have been a "plant," a high-ranking Democrat suggested Thursday."
This issue is looking more weird (and disturbing) by the day!
BOOKS NUGGET!!
Among Recent First Families, Obama's is the Clear Front Runner from the Boston Globe Book Review
"A little more than a year since his inauguration, Barack Obama isn’t just the leader of the free world, he’s on his way to ruling the bookstores. Scores of volumes about him have already been published, and this month alone will see the addition of three more about his young presidency. Even more impressive is the parade of titles by Obama’s relatives; at just 15 months in office, this first family has produced more books (four and counting) than any other in recent history."
CULTURE NUGGET!!
The Left's Strange Hostility to Hirsi Ali from Maclean's Magazine [of Canada]
"Nicholas Kristof is just the latest great thinker to talk himself into a rosy view of Islam."
I can understand the hostility -- her critique of Islam is quite harsh. But I also think she is largely on-the-money when it comes to assessing the problem of conservative muslims and their lack of integration into European (and to a lesser extent US) culture and society. Something needs to happen there.
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