Al Qaeda Is Going Gently into the Night from the Atlantic
"Counter-terrorism experts said Al Qaeda wouldn't vanish in a sweeping final act but in a gradual, winnowing decline. A new report out of Southeast Asia gives a sketch of what that looks like. Reporting from Jakarta, the Associated Press writes that Al Qaeda's foothold in Southeast Asia appears to be gone."
With Arab Spring-like uprisings happening in urban centers across the Middle East, why would you choose to go off to hide in a cave somewhere to engage in years-long plots to go to the West and blow up people there? The real action is in places like Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Morocco, Sudan and many other places where real change is really happening.
Rearranging The Deck Chairs On The SS Chinese Economy (Gordon Chang) from Forbes Magazine
"With an economy expanding in the low single digits — if it is growing at all — we would normally expect Beijing to take significant action. So what is the worst economic indicator of all? The fact that Chinese officials are doing so little at this crucial moment."
David Plouffe: From Knife Seller to the President’s Hard Edge from the New York Times
"Fiercely data-driven, Mr. Plouffe revels in the company of spreadsheets, lists, maps and the Baseball Almanac. Fiercely competitive, he once decked a colleague in a friendly touch football game for taunting him. Fiercely unsentimental, he expends zero amazement over his career climb from selling knives door to door to a first-among-equals status in the White House’s closed circle."
GOP Takes A Break From Judicial Obstruction (Matt Taylor) from the National Memo
"Furman's confirmation, coupled with the nearly-unanimous approval a day earlier of another Obama nominee, Cuban-born Adalberto Jordan, suggests that congressional Republicans might be rethinking their strategy of lock-step obstruction of the president's judicial nominations, which many argue has led to a vacancy crisis."
Birth Control-Centered Gender War Boosts Democratic Campaigns (Laura Bassett) from the Huffington Post
"Where are the women? The question, posed by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to an all-male panel at Thursday's House Oversight Committee hearing on a new birth control coverage requirement, has rapidly turned into a political rallying cry, sparking a viral online campaign and lighting a fire under Democratic campaigns."
Ten Republican Wars of 2012 (Daniel Rigney) from Salon
"Lately the Republican Party and its presidential candidates (and debate audiences!) have been firing their missiles at a broad array of ideological targets. Here are ten fronts on which the party seems to be waging its ongoing war against the future."
Rush Limbaugh, Secret Democrat (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"That's the only explanation for why the right-wing blowhard is leading the GOP off a culture-war cliff."
Poll Finds Most Virginians Oppose Changes in Abortion, Gun Laws from the Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Another measure that could reach the governor would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion. Of those polled, 55 percent say they oppose the requirement and 36 percent support it. The House and Senate have passed versions of the legislation."
In January, Romney Spends Nearly Three Times his Haul from CNN
"Mitt Romney's presidential campaign on Monday announced raising $6.5 million in January while significantly depleting their resources as his campaign fought to win two of the first four Republican contests. The campaign burned through $18.7 million in January, ending the month with almost $7.7 million on hand and no debt, according to Federal Election Commission findings"
Mitt Romney Campaign Downplays Michigan After Calling It A Must Win (Sam Stein) from the Huffington Post
"A top aide to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign on Monday downplayed expectations for next week's Michigan primary, saying Romney, whose father served as Michigan governor, didn't have to notch a win in the state."
WOW!! You have to wonder what their internal polling is showing if their spokesperson is saying this! I have assumed right along that Romney's ad blitz in Michigan would carry the day for him there -- but after this, you have to wonder.
Why Mitt Romney's Presidential Prospects May Not Be Salvageable (Walter Shapiro) from the New Republic
"Even more devastating for Romney is that elite Republicans have begun to conclude that he cannot, if nominated, beat Barack Obama. ... The solution to many problems of political authenticity is for the candidate to abandon the dictates of his handlers and just go with his instincts. The problem for Romney is that the doctrine of “Let Mitt Be Mitt” would probably produce a candidate with the warmth of a business consultant and the inner conviction of a market-based algorithm. In short, hiding behind that Mitt Romney mask is (yikes) another Mitt Romney mask."
FYI: it is my observation that Shapiro is one of the MOST knowledgeable and clear-eyed pundits out there on GOP establishment thinking.
There Will Be No Saviors for the GOP in 2012 (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Prominent Republicans keep hoping for someone to rescue them from its slate of mediocre candidates. But the party’s biggest problem is the ideological bloodlust of its base."
Mitt Romney's Michigan Problem: Reagan Democrats: Swinging the Reagan Democrats (Andrew Romano) from Newsweek
"Blame the frosty homecoming on the Independent Voters Formerly Known as Reagan Democrats. Economically populist and socially conservative, these blue-collar, largely Catholic, largely unionized workers tend to swing. In 2008 they helped put Barack Obama over the top. In 2010 they returned to the GOP. Now they seem to be recoiling from Romney."
Santorum’s Elite Problem (Jonathan Chait) from New York Magazine
"... being loathed by disproportionately influential people is a big problem. ... And of course this is a problem for Santorum not just as a nominee but in getting the nomination in the first place."
Romney Inability to Clear Field Leads to Possibility of Contested Convention, More GOP Names from FOX News
"... could a brokered -- or contested -- convention be in the cards? And could New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels or anyone else come in to save the day? "I don't see how that can happen," Ryan, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Budget Committee, told NBC's "Meet the Press." "It's just too late, I think.""
Some Republicans Whisper About a Plan B from CNN
"In a whispering campaign not ready to go public, some senior Republicans are so anxious about the state of the GOP race they are actually considering the unheard of: a scenario that would lead to another
candidate entering the Republican primary race, and potentially an open convention."
Replacing Mitt? So Much Harder Than It Looks (Josh Marshall) from Talking Points Memo
"If you’re really a gold standard candidate, you’re going to step in to steer the half-capsized ship coming out of the epic crap-storm of a brokered convention? Really? So not going to happen."
November's Republican conundrum: Can Santorum get beyond GOP base? Can Romney get the GOP base? from Daily Kos
"One reason Republican elders are futilely pounding on Mitch Daniels's door at this late date is Mitt Romney. The other is Rick Santorum. To the elders, each man appears to be parading around with a big "L" for loser-in-November engraved on his forehead."
Paul's Pantry Turns Down Planned Parenthood Food Donation from Fox News 11 [of Green Bay, WI]
"An area Catholic food pantry whose mission is to feed the hungry says no to Planned Parenthood. As part of its Martin Luther King food drive, Planned Parenthood collected 50 pounds of food. It hoped to donate the food to Paul's Pantry. “What was told to me was that they simply said we do not want any food donations from you period,” said Lisa Boyce, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin."
Romney and Obama Vie for Title of Most Charitable; Santorum Gave Least to Charity from the Washington Post
"... when you calculate charitable giving based on adjustable gross income, Obama actually takes a lead. He and Michelle gave 14.2 percent of their AGI, while the Romneys gave 13.8 percent."
Rick Santorum Could Take Republicans Down with Him (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"Republicans haven’t quite thrown away what they see as a winnable presidential election, at least not yet. But they’re trying their best. In GOP circles, there is more than a whiff of panic in the air. Unemployment is still painfully high, Americans remain dissatisfied with the country’s direction, even the most favorable polls show President Obama’s approval at barely 50 percent — and yet there is a sense that the Republicans’ odds of winning back the White House grow longer day by day."
ADOLF HITLER NUGGET!!
Adolf Hitler Sounds Like a Lousy Date from the Atlantic
"A Frenchman who claimed to be Adolf Hitler's illegitimate son died without being able to prove it, but his lawyer has come forward with a new stack of evidence, including a description of the awkward courtship of a teenage girl and a German corporal during World War I."
Stories like this have come and gone over the years with most of them proving to be total BS. This one seems to have more foundation to it. Hitler's World War I years are the most difficult to untangle -- simply because he lied about them so much later in life. If true, this would certainly add an interesting dimension to that period. It seems to me that there should be away to prove something here if some dna analysis could be brought to bare.
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