News Nuggets 866

DAYEE PICTURE: A rainbow intersects with a lone surfer in Tahiti.  From National Geographic.

TEN BEST NUGGETS OF THE WEEK!!

1.  How the GOP Awakened Obama (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest 
"Then came the budget battle over raising the debt ceiling. ... The upshot is that since then, Obama has been reinvigorated. The GOP, to put it another way, awakened a slumbering giant. Obama's State of the Union address signaled that he is uninterested in compromise. ... So far, Obama has every reason to believe that his fortunes have decisively turned for the better."

2.  Why it’s China’s Turn to Worry about Manufacturing (Vivek Wadhwa) from the Washington Post
"New technologies will likely cause the same hollowing out of China’s manufacturing industry over the next two decades that the U.S experienced over the past twenty years. That’s right. America is destined to once again gain its supremacy in manufacturing, and it will soon be China’s turn to worry."

3.  The GOP Deserves to Lose (Bret Stephens) from the Wall Street Journal 
"As for the current GOP field, it's like confronting a terminal diagnosis. There may be an apparent range of treatments: conventional (Romney), experimental (Gingrich), homeopathic (Paul) or prayerful (Santorum). But none will avail you in the end. Just try to exit laughing."

4.  Blame the GOP Establishment for the Rise of Gingrich (Conor
Friedersdorf) from the Atlantic
"It's Beltway "thought leaders" on the right who are responsible for this flawed candidate."

5.  Rush Limbaugh: Resentment, Cultural Insecurity Fueled Gingrich's Rise (Conor Friedersdorf) from the Atlantic
"In his telling, Gingrich's victory is rooted in the cultural insecurity and resentment of conservative Republicans. The only difference between his analysis and the folks I've quoted is that he regards this
emotionalism as unproblematic and justified. ... Limbaugh may think this victim complex, and the desire for revenge and emotional catharsis it creates, is justified. He is nevertheless admitting that the behavior of the conservative base isn't grounded in principle or patriotism or a desire to advance conservative policy."

6.  From Gingrich To Palin To Gingrich (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Beast 
"This now is the party of Palin and Gingrich, animated primarily by hatred of elites, angry at the new shape and color of America, befuddled by a suddenly more complicated world, and dedicated primarily to emotion rather than reason. That party is simply not one that can rally behind a Mitt Romney."

7.  The Tribe of Newt (David Weigel) from Slate
"As a Democrat, he was blissed out. ... Who were these crazy people? They were Gingrich voters, Frankensteins stitched together from the parts of other, extinct conservatives. ... Gingrich was saying that all criticism of Republicans from the media should be suspect. ... Romney, who recites America the Beautiful in his campaign speeches, didn’t convince them that he hated “the elites.” Gingrich did. He’d outdebate Obama because he didn’t accept the notion that Obama was a competent, eloquent president. They didn’t accept it, either. "

8.  Newt Gingrich Wins. What It Means (Erik Erikson) from Redstate.com 
"Newt Gingrich’s rise has a lot to do with Newt Gingrich’s debate performance. But it has just as much to do with a party base in revolt against its thought and party leaders in Washington, DC. The base is revolting because they swept the GOP back into relevance in Washington just under two years ago and they have been thanked with contempt ever since. ... Sure, he’d probably be an erratic President, but right now Republican voters don’t care about his Presidency. They care about the fight with the left both Mitt Romney, and the Washington Republican leaders like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell don’t seem inclined to engage in."

9.  Is Newt Nuts? (Jacob Weisberg) from Slate
"Consider the symptoms: Bouts of grandiosity, megalomania, irritability, impulsiveness, spending sprees …"
As I noted yesterday, the Reid Report is looking at the same topic HERE.  That article is based on a 1995 Vanity Fair article which can be found HERE.

10.  African American Women See their Own Challenges Mirrored in Michelle Obama’s ( Krissah Thompson and Vanessa Williams)  from the Washington Post 
"“She is mainstreaming to the world what a lot of us already know about ourselves,” says Dacenta Grice, a 37-year-old black woman who works as a physician assistant in Atlanta. “She reinforces the reality that so many of us live. She is a black woman who just seems fantastic in her own right, who just seems like every day people and is relatable.”"

Now -- to today's news nuggets for Sunday, January 29.

Egypt's Revolt and the American Model (Ed Husain) from the Council on Foreign Relations
"The Arab revolutionaries did not look to China or Russia for a model of government. They looked to four-year presidential terms, inspired directly by American democracy."

Made in the World (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"There is a big gap in how C.E.O.’s and political leaders look at the world."

Davos and Disconnected Elites (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post 
"As the “best and brightest” from the developing world plug into the global grid, they inevitably unplug from their local political, business and cultural networks. It’s a subtler version of what used to be called the “brain drain.” The entrepreneurs keep their businesses at home, where they are making their money, but they and their children join the global elite in a web of Four Seasons hotels and Ivy League tuition bills."

Winners and Losers of the Defense Budget (Robert Haddick) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Who benefits from the Pentagon's Rumsfeldian shift toward technology and special ops?"

Should Obama Brag About GM? Absolutely (Jonathan Cohn) from the New Republic
"... everybody who follows the industry also acknowledges that the entire domestic industry – not just GM and Chrysler, but possibly Ford and the massive, sprawling network of parts makers that supply the companies – could have collapsed if Obama hadn’t acted."

Gay Marriage Moving Forward Around the Country (Abby Rapoport) from the American Prospect
"It's not just Washington state. Maryland, Maine and New Jersey are also home to new initiatives for gay marriage."

All Stirred Up: Look for a Lot of New Faces in the House Next Year, Regardless of Which Party Gains Seats (Charlie Cook) from the National Journal
"The states have completed approximately two-thirds of their decennial redistricting. The remap itself looks like a partisan wash. But neutral doesn’t mean calm. Consider the following five developments—as a certain cast member of the Jersey Shore might say, “We have a situation.”"

‘Family Values’ Still Matter — When it’s the Other Party’s Indiscretions (Melinda Henneberger) from the Washington Post
"Ask a Republican about Gingrich’s history of philandering, and the odds are excellent that the next sentence you hear will include the words “Bill Clinton.”"

As Florida Race Turns Personal, GOP Insiders Fear for Party Unity from The Hill
"Gone from the race in Florida are the long-winded outlines of their plans to create jobs, cut the national debt and pull homeowners out of foreclosure. Gone are the policy-based condemnations of who is too moderate or whose tax plan too unrealistic. They’ve been replaced by attacks that would make a kindergarten teacher call a foul: Gingrich says Romney is a liar; Romney says Gingrich is a failure."

It's Not About Newt  (Joseph M. Koenig) from the American Thinker
"The fact that such an audience, and surely millions of viewers at home, felt such elation, such euphoric relief, that they were prompted to offer not one, but multiple standing ovations to a political candidate,
demonstrates the utter paucity of spirit and lack of understanding so glaringly obvious in the GOP political elite."

Newt’s Real Legacy (Gail Collins) from the New York Times
"... actually, when you’re talking about 1) Committing adultery, 2) Divorcing your wife while she’s sick to marry your mistress, 3) Committing adultery, 4) Allegedly asking your wife to let you keep the mistress on the side and 5) Divorcing your wife while she’s sick to marry your mistress ... it’s pretty clear everybody doesn’t do it."

Gingrich’s GOP Revolution of the ’90s Looks Different from Today’s House from the Washington Post
"Former speaker is criticized for his top-down style, but it may be more effective than current approach."

SMALL HOMES NUGGET!!
A Designer of Perfect Homes No One Can Live In from Salon
open the new, expanded edition of Diedricksen’s book, “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts, and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!” (out Feb. 1 from Lyons Press), and you’ll see this backyard architect’s inventive micro-homes through an entirely different, more exciting artistic lens."

GAY HISTORY NUGGET!!
How Gossip Became History: Eminent Outlaws by Christopher Bram (Brad Gooch) from the Daily Beast
"From Gore Vidal to Tony Kushner, a new book, Eminent Outlaws by Christopher Bram, traces the history of America gay writers as they emerged from the literary closet. Brad Gooch on how gossip became history. Plus, a gallery of the most famous."