News Nuggets 854

DAYLEE PICTURE: A farmer walking among the rice terraces in China.  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS NUGGET!!
This week's Newsweek cover story:
Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics (Andrew Sullivan) from Newsweek
"The right calls him a socialist, the left says he sucks up to Wall Street, and independents think he's a wimp. Andrew Sullivan on how the president may just end up outsmarting them all."

Syria: Beyond the Wall of Fear, a State in Slow-Motion Collapse (Ian Black) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Despite the superficial calm in Damascus, everyone knows change is coming. The only question is, how much will it cost?"

In Russia, Mr Putin Must Face the New Reality from the Editorial Board of the Independent [of the UK]
"It is a paradox that, while Mr Putin can claim credit for many of these developments – and did so in some detail when he made his announcement yesterday – they have come back to bite him in the form of a less compliant, more sophisticated and more demanding electorate."

Why China Is Weak on Soft Power (Joseph Nye) from the New York Times 
"China's internal restrictions undermine its efforts to build up its image and cultural influence." from the New York Times."

Where Are the Serious Republican Candidates? (Fred Hiatt) from the Washington Post
"Why is the Republican presidential field so weak? Six months ago, that might have seemed an unfair question, or at least premature. The roster of candidates often starts out looking like the “seven dwarfs,” only to have some rise in stature while others fall away. That hasn’t happened this time. Mitt Romney looks no less presidential today than he did at the start. But none of the others has come close to making himself plausible."

Polls: Republican Voter Enthusiasm Drops, Dems Not Far Behind from Talking Points Memo
"CNN numbers released Monday seem to show that Republicans’ inability to get excited about particular candidates this time around may be eating away at their desire to get to the polls."
There is A LOT Obama can do to spark Dem enthusiasm -- and he has shown the capacity to do that.  I don't get that Romney and the GOP really have that capacity.

Climate and the Culture War (Michael Gerson) from the Washington Post 
"What explains the recent, bench-clearing climate brawl? A scientific debate has been sucked into a broader national argument about the role of government. Many political liberals have seized on climate disruption as an excuse for policies they supported long before climate science became compelling — greater federal regulation and mandated lifestyle changes. Conservatives have also tended to equate climate science with liberal policies and therefore reject both. The result is a contest of questioned motives."
I had been sensing that the global warming conversation was drifting into this area -- but it is far more the GOP's campaign of disinformation that has landed it here.

South Carolina’s School of Conservatism (Scott Stenholm) from the Daily Beast
"My family’s long history with Bob Jones University helped me earn my liberalism—had my grandparents been Berkley professors, it might have been less genuine and organic."

Mitt Romney: A Very Big Gamble for the GOP (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"Now, none of this means that Romney isn’t the strongest general election candidate, and indeed, polls show he’s locked in a dead heat with Obama nationally and in key swing states. The question, though, is whether Romney’s strength as a general election candidate is real, or whether it’s a matter of perception."

At South Carolina Convention, Tea Party Struggles With Electability (Michelle Cottle) from the Daily Beast
"With no consensus standard-bearer, the rebel Republicans’ South Carolina convention reflected the chaos of political passions confronted with the reality of electability."

South Carolina Diarist (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"On a visit to South Carolina just days before the primary, getting a feel for what people on the scene are thinking about the candidates."

Even Texas Republicans Don't Want Perry from Public Policy Polling 
"Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country. When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points.  Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%"

Why Jon Huntsman Failed (E.J. Dionne Jr.) from the Washington Post 
"He won plaudits for his economic views from the Wall Street Journal editorial page and was an early backer of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget. But he could never square the two strategies and couldn’t figure out which mattered most to him: to be a forward-looking temperamental moderate with conservative views, or to be an outright conservative."

The Obamas: Entry 5: The first lady is Barack Obama’s Department of “Let’s Get Real.” (Jacob Weisberg) from Slate
"I love that she keeps him from getting too high on his own supply. Two dangers for all presidents are the isolation from normal existence and the massive ego trip that even a well-grounded person tends to go on after years of flattery and adulation."
Check the other entries in this series.

AMERICAN CULTURE NUGGET!!
ACI: A New Way of Measuring Pretentiousness (Calvin Trillen) from Slate 
"“Among people who think of themselves as wine connoisseurs there’s a 61 percent ACI.” I was puzzled. “What’s an ACI?” I asked. He lowered his voice a bit, as if he was about to use somewhat offensive language and wanted to make certain no women (he would have said “ladies”) were in ear-shot. “Asshole Correlation Index,” he said."