The Iran-Washington Conspiracy? (Leslie H. Gelb) from the Daily Beast
"Both Washington and Tehran are maneuvering to head off an Israeli attack against Iran, a process of intriguing diplomatic gamesmanship."
'It is Not in the American National Interest to Go to War Against Iran Anytime Soon' (Thomas E. Ricks) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"But the bottom line is, I don't know a single person in government, civilian or in uniform, who thinks it is in our national interest to go to war with Iran now."
Y'know, I could be completely wrong about this, but I am surprisingly certain that Obama and his team are in complete agreement with Ricks's comment here and will do whatever it takes to avoid a conflict with Iran.
What Would John Adams Do About Iran? It’s Time for No. 44 to Channel No. 2. (James Traub) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The public, led by Adams's own Federalist Party, was demanding a declaration of war. Adams himself had stoked those public passions. But now, in the summer, he hesitated between belligerence and yet more diplomacy. The United States is now locked in conflict with Iran, another revolutionary, expansionist power. It is not yet summer 1798, but it's getting close."
Gulf War III Isn’t an Option (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"We’ve heard this quickening drumbeat before. Last time, it led to the tragic invasion and occupation of Iraq. This time, if we let the drummers provoke us into war with Iran, the consequences will likely be far worse. Rat-ta-tat-tat. Weapons of mass destruction. Boom-shakka-boom. A madman in charge. Thump-thump-thump. Mushroom clouds. Tune out the anxiety-inducing percussion and think for a minute. Yes, there are good reasons to be concerned about the Iranian nuclear program. But it doesn’t follow that launching a military attack — or providing support for an attack by Israel — would necessarily be effective, let alone wise. The evidence suggests it would be neither."
In Break, Hamas Supports Syrian Opposition from the New York Times
"Marking the first public rift with its longtime patron, a leader of Hamas spoke out against President Bashar al-Assad of Syria."
You have to take this as a big blow to Assad. Hamas owes the Assad regime A LOT -- and yet they are jumping ship. I take it as a given that they know which way the wind is blowing.
Clear and Present Safety: The United States Is More Secure Than Washington Thinks (Micah Zenko and Michael A. Cohen) from the journal, Foreign Affairs
"U.S. officials and national security experts chronically exaggerate foreign threats, suggesting that the world is scarier and more dangerous than ever. But that is just not true. From the U.S. perspective, at least, the world today is remarkably secure, and Washington needs a foreign policy that reflects that reality. "
Symbolic Legislation to Nowhere: Why Statehouses Fail in Governance (Andrew Cohen) from the Atlantic
"With proposals such as mandated ultrasounds for abortion seekers and bans on Sharia law, state legislatures avoid actual governance in favor of dead-end ideas."
An Expert Witness for the GOP Gender Gap (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"It is tempting to speculate that Issa’s head contains some regret that his hearing, which was supposed to be about an assault on religious freedom by President Obama, instead became a symbol of Republicans trying to take the pill away from women. This is not a good position for Republicans. ... judging from the reporters standing in the aisles to hear Fluke (the House Recording Studio’s refusal to broadcast the pseudo-hearing generated even more media attention), Republicans are losing the perception war."
Dems Salivate Over Coming GOP Birth Control Misstep from the Talking Points Memo
"The GOP’s ongoing push to allow employers to deny contraceptive — or any — health care coverage has Democrats in an amusing position: outraged that the Republican party has reignited the culture wars, and simultaneously salivating over what they believe is a deadly GOP political misstep."
The GOP’s Other Nomination Headache (Steve Kornacki) from Salon
" It’s not just the top of the ticket that could cause Republicans headaches this year. The headlines of the past few days have raised or reinforced questions about the viability of two of the top prospects for the No. 2 slot."
Republicans Starting to Rethink Romney (Ryan Lizza) from the New Yorker
"DeWine is still an outlier, but we are starting to see a trickle of Romney backers, and Republican operatives whose bosses have backed Romney, expressing misgivings. ... DuHaime’s remarks, as well as DeWine’s and Huntsman’s, suggest the lack of enthusiasm for Romney is getting more pronounced rather than less as the campaign goes on."
What is there to "rethink"? That train has already left the station.
Romney’s Economic Closet (Paul Krugman) form the New York Times
"According to Michael Kinsley, a gaffe is when a politician accidently tells the truth. That’s certainly what happened to Mitt Romney on Tuesday, when in a rare moment of candor — and, in his case, such moments are really, really rare — he gave away the game."
No Bailouts for Romney’s Intellectual Bankruptcy (Jonathan Alter) from the Bloomberg News Service
"By all accounts, Mitt Romney is a smart businessman with a sophisticated understanding of how economies work. So why is he so tied up in knots over basic questions of government spending in a recession and the limits of the free market? Because he’s running for president in a party that has lost its economic common sense, its political bearings and probably Michigan’s electoral votes."
Why Mitt Romney Might Be Even Weaker Than You Think from Talking Points Memo
"Mitt Romney’s got a problem. Purple Strategies released their “Purple Poll” on Thursday, data from twelve swing states the showed former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) in a better position to beat President Obama than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "
The Increasingly Worthless GOP Nomination (Robert Shrum) from The Week
"Mitt Romney is pandering so desperately to the far-right fringe that he's become all but unelectable in November."
What follows are a series of stories on Romney's big economic speech earlier today in Detroit. What a FIASCO!!
With Detroit Debacle, Mitt Romney Steps on His Momentum—Again (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"The Republican candidate has a tendency to make cringe-inducing gaffes right when things are going well for his campaign."
Frontiers in Advance Work (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"What’s striking about this is that the Romney campaign frequently boasts about its success at process. ... Jed Lewison has a roundup of all the critical reaction to the Ford Field choice on Twitter from neutral reporters and even one conservative."
OMG! Even the temporary folding chairs section near the stage is half empty!! WHY did they choose this venue!? The tweets from reporters on the scene are HILARIOUS!! Another aspect of Sargent's commentary: the arrogance of Romney's oppo team really comes out in this piece.
Romney Speech Falls Flat in Detroit from The Hill
"Mitt Romney spoke to several empty seats Friday in Detroit, in a speech that offered Democrats more fodder for their attacks and failed to deliver the major economic address his campaign promised. Television cameras showed rows of empty chairs as Romney rehashed many of the policies and quips he'd used in previous speeches, made a few jokes that appeared to fall flat with the audience and said that his wife, Ann, drives "a couple of Cadillacs," which will likely give Democrats more ammunition for their depiction of him as rich and out of touch."
In response to the "Cadillacs" part of Romney's speech comes this item:
Mitt Romney Needs All Those Cars Because of All Those Mansions from Daily Kos
A humorous look at how many mansions and cars Romney owns -- with pictures of his various homes! They show five homes -- I'm not sure that's all of them. Seeing even this group is ... strangely compelling, and I could easily see a devastating SuperPAC-funded ad (or, at the least, a Jon Stewart sendup) coming from it.
Wisconsin, One Year Later (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"Twelve months ago, 100,000 protestors took over Madison. The political storm they stirred up is still raging as polarizing Governor Scott Walker faces a recall."
HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!
How Hollywood Conquered the World (All Over Again) (Stephen Galloway) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"For all the talk of American decline, there’s one thing we still make better than anyone on the planet: movies."
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