News Nuggets 1333

DAYLEE PICTURE: A Giant Orange Grasshopper in Naples, Florida.  From Smithsonian Magazine.

A Doable Iran Deal (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times
"There will not be a better opportunity to put Iranian nuclear capacity in a box and begin to repair relations."

How France Scuttled The Iran Deal at the Last Minute (Colum Lynch, Yochi Dreazen) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The socialist government of French President François Hollande has adopted a muscular foreign policy that has put it to the right of the Obama administration on Libya, Mali, Syria and now Iran. Along the way, it has also become Israel's primary European ally and -- after the U.S. -- arguably its closest friend in the world."

U.S. Marines Bringing Typhoon Aid to Philippine Shores from Time Magazine
"The Filipino government ordered the U.S. Navy out of Subic Bay in 1991, nearly a century after the U.S. captured the islands from Spain (the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced the closure of Clark earlier that same year). Last year, Manila said the U.S. military could return to Subic and Clark. Regardless of that history, the U.S. military was the most visible sign of international aid following Mother Nature’s carnage."

The Country is Doing Better than You Think (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"The economy is growing much more quickly than expected. Inflation is basically nonexistent. The federal budget deficit has been slashed dramatically. The stock market is reaching all-time highs. One of our long-running wars is over, and the other is winding down. The status of the United States as the world’s preeminent economic and military power is unchallenged. So why is everyone so depressed?"

Which of the 11 American Nations Do You Live In? from the Washington Post 
"Red states and blue states? Flyover country and the coasts? How simplistic. Colin Woodard, a reporter at the Portland Press Herald and author of several books, says North America can be broken neatly into 11 separate nation-states, where dominant cultures explain our voting behaviors and attitudes toward everything from social issues to the role of government."

Washington: A World Apart from the Washington Post
"This map highlights in yellow the nation's Super Zips — those ranking highest on income and college education. The largest collection of Super Zips is around Washington, D.C. Learn more about this metric."

Don’t Believe the Chris Christie Hype—Look at His Economic Record (Dean Obeidallah) from the Daily Beast
"In 2016, the New Jersey governor won’t be running against an unknown, underfunded opponent—but a GOP primary field keen to pounce on his economic failings, from unemployment to taxes."

How the Tea Party’s Apocalyptic Politics Are Destroying the Republican Party (Joe McLean) from the Daily Beast
"Leaders of the Tea Party are willing to wreck the Republican Party, the government, and the economy to prove that Obama is evil and God is on their side."

Elections Embolden Both GOP Establishment and the Tea Party (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"The end result is that both sides of the GOP argument live to fight another day, each emboldened by the election in its own way. That “next day” will be in a series of Republican Senate primaries over the first seven months of 2014. The first — and most telling — will be in Kentucky, ..."

GOP Flailing Against the Tide (Juan Williams) from The Hill
"McAuliffe’s campaign hit Cucinelli early and hard on his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape and incest. “He’s focused on his agenda, not us,” was the phrase repeated in advertising painting the Republican as a threat to abortion rights in Virginia. The result was that McAuliffe won 67 percent of the votes of single women."

Virginia, New Jersey, and 2016: is the Tea Party Breaking? (Dante Atkins) from Daily Kos
"... an overwhelming victory in a Northern blue state by someone who had literally embraced the president; a defeat in a Southern purple state by a hardcore conservative to an uninspiring Democrat in an off-year election; and a primary victory in a solid-red district by an establishment
Republican against an insurgent conservative birther. Seems like the tea party crowd would be chastened, right? Wrong..."

Christie’s Tea-Party Problem (Richard Cohen) from the Washington Post 
"Cruz the younger is not merely tea party to the nth degree, he is a Christian conservative as well — and for 22 percent of Iowa’s “likely 2016 caucusgoers,” polled by the Des Moines Register, that’s who they think stands the best chance of winning the presidency."

There's Absolutely No Chance Elizabeth Warren Beats Hillary Clinton (Jamelle Bouie) from the Daily Beast
"The Massachusetts senator is popular, but she's not nearly popular enough to topple one of the most beloved and formidable figures in the Democratic Party."
This story is based on a column by Noam Scheiber at the New Republic:(Hillary's Nightmare? A Democratic Party That Realizes Its Soul Lies With Elizabeth Warren) which has received a surprising amount of play inside the beltway.  I am of at least two minds on this subject: first, that if Hillary wants to run, Elizabeth Warren would not only be foolish to run against her but that the Clinton machine would snuff Warren's campaign out like a wet cigarette.  The Clintons are FAR more in tune with the "soul" of the Democratic Party (and its donors and big players) than Hillary was in 2008.  In '08, Hillary was out of sync with so much of the Democratic base that it created a clear opening for someone like Obama.  I see no such opening at least as of now.  Millions of voters and Democratic activists (myself included) have a surplus of good will to Hillary for being a pro back in '08 and for joining Obama's cabinet and working her pantsuits off as Secretary of State and for NOT being a sidelines sour grape -- which she EASILY could have been!  Warren, in contrast, has the love of the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party -- and that's it.  I don't believe Warren would seriously undercut Hillary's support among women, and the African American wing of the party hardly knows Warren at all.  Hillary's worst nightmare is NOT Warren running against her in 2016.  No -- and this brings me to the "other mind" that I have on this subject: Hillary's worst nightmare is if she runs as bad a campaign in 2016 as she did in '08.  Not only was her message out of tune with the party then, her early "coronation" approach to the primaries was dumb and even offensive. It is encouraging that '08 campaign boneheads like Mark Penn, Terry McAuliff and Harold Ickes no longer seem part of the Clinton "brain trust" as it is currently constituted.  At the core of her problem though then (as it has been for the Clintons since 1992) has been an extraordinary propensity for self-inflicted wounds.  Let's be blunt.  Bill and Hillary's worst enemies are ... Bill and Hillary.  They shoot themselves in the foot SO MANY TIMES their campaign symbol should be the centipede, a creature with feet to spare. For a full rundown of this political gunplay back in the day, see my rant on this subject from March of this year.  Will Hillary be able to run a campaign in 2016 that is relatively "clean" of scandal?  Hillary did this when she ran for the Senate in 2000.  Will she be able to run a competent campaign that is relatively scandal-free in 2016?  More than any other factors, it is these questions that will determine whether there is an opening for Warren or anyone else.

BOATING NUGGET!!
A Bond Villain Lair? No, this Strange Boat is a Floating Lab that Will Help Marine Biologists Unlock the Secrets of the World's Oceans from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Construction on the marine research facility called SeaOrbiter is due to start by May 2014.  Two-thirds of the 170-ft tall vessel will sit underwater to give it buoyancy and offer a direct line of sight to the ocean.  Between 18 and 22 marine biologists will be able to study ecosystems and fish levels on board at any one time.  The French-designed craft weighs 1,000 tonnes and will be powered by wind, wave and solar energy."