News Nuggets 713

The Lencois Maranhenses National Park in Maranhao State in Brazil.  From National Geographic.

The Tea Party Won…Then They Lost (Kyle Leighton) from Talking Points Memo
"Wednesday's revelation: that according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll conducted directly after the debt ceiling compromise was signed, the Tea Party doesn't think it was much of a victory at all. In fact, only 22% of Tea Party supporters even approved of the final agreement. The only general majority that actually did? 58% of Democrats, and 51% of liberals."

Poll Suggests Distance Between Democratic Voters and Liberal Groups Bashing Debt Deal from the Washington Post
"The White House is taking heart from a  new survey measuring public reaction to the debt deal."

In (Partial) Defense of Obama (Ben Heineman) from the Atlantic
"Many liberals are furious with President Obama over the policies in the debt ceiling deal. But, as usual, their critique--Paul Krugman's is one example--ignores, or is naïve about, the hard realities of divided congressional politics."
It is one of my biggest complaints about Paul Krugman: he's a world-class economist ... who has never been elected dog-catcher.  His POLITICAL analysis is routinely bush-league star-gazing.  The vistas are crystal clear ... when viewed from Princeton.

Would President Hillary be a Stronger Leader than President Obama? (Jonathan Bernstein) from Salon
"Can we now safely say that Democrats made the wrong choice three years ago? The short answer is: No. Believe it or not, the best evidence is that if Clinton were now the president -- or, for that matter, if any other mainstream Democrat were -- the differences would be very small."
I think this author takes too much of an institutional view.  I think the differences between Obama and Clinton would be quite substantial ... and they would be in Obama's favor.  Look at two signature issues for Obama, the health care legislation and the bin Laden takedown.  It is almost certainly the case that the health care program would have been much smaller than what Obama was able to get.  Why?  Because in the WH, it was many of the veteran Clintonites (such as Rahm Emmanual) who advocated passing a modest set of this and that in late 2009, not a bigger program.  More to the point, by Bill Clinton's second term, the Clintons took it as gospel to go small and forget any big, highly transformative legislation.  Moreover, Hillary would have walked into office in early 2009 with all the right-wing visceral hatred of her already in place, a hatred that would take most of 2009 for Obama to acquire in equal measure.  There is NO WAY Hillary Clinton would have passed anything close to the size of what Obama got through.  What about the bin Laden raid?  Hillary probably would not have taken the chance on the raid.  How would you know?  Because, while in office, Bill had a chance to get bin Laden under similar circumstances -- and refused to pull the trigger.  Moreover, who has been Hillary's guiding light on defense policy the last three years?  SecDef Robert Gates, one of the key people on Obama's defense team who strongly opposed the raid.  Would Hillary have given the raid the green light in the face of opposition from both Bill AND Gates?  Answer: almost certainly not.

Why Obama Won’t Face a Primary Challenge (Harold Meyerson) from the Washington Post
" Those groups within the Democratic Party that might otherwise be shopping around for a more forthrightly progressive alternative are deterred by two factors: the likelihood that any challenge will end up helping a radicalized Republican Party and the fact that Obama is black."

Pelosi’s Battle Plan (Eleanor Clift) from the Daily Beast
"Stung by the debt-deal loss, the minority leader plans to get Democrats back on their jobs message and hammer Tea Party lawmakers as extremists who want to destroy government. By Eleanor Clift."

Why Defense Spending Should Be Cut (Fareed Zakaria) from the Washington Post
"Most experts estimate that the defense budget would lose $600 billion to $700 billion over the next 10 years. If so, let the guillotine fall. It would be a much-needed adjustment to an out-of-control military-industrial complex."

They'll Miss Obama When He's Gone (David Swerdlick) from The Root
"Left, right and center are all dumping on the president. They'll regret it later."
I don't even want to contemplate Obama leaving the scene anytime soon -- but the larger point is well-taken.

The Debt Deal Makes It Nearly Impossible for the GOP Nominee to Pivot to the Center (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"How much harder might the “pivot to the center” be for the 2012 GOP nominee, who will head up a party convinced its recommitment to conservative principles and its partisan militancy won the 2010 midterm elections and now has Democrats on the run?"

Speaking of putative GOP nominees:
Big 'Response' for Rick Perry? from CNN
"It's likely not the response Rick Perry was expecting. Earlier this year, the Texas Governor called on Christians across the U.S. to come to Houston for a prayer event aimed at bringing God's help to a "nation in crisis." Organizers of the religious gathering, dubbed "The Response," say only 8,000 people have registered on-line to attend this Saturday's event at Houston's Reliant Stadium, a venue with a seating capacity of 71,000."
Interesting.  Given what a big-deal pre-roll out event this was SUPPOSED to be, clearly somebody screwed up here.  At the very least, this prayer debacle suggests a political shop that is not ready for prime time.  It could be nothing more than that. Has Perry misjudged the moment?  I have noted for some time my suspicion that, as a grass-roots movement, the Tea Party spent itself in 2010.  The debt deal outcome ran very counter to that interpretation with the Tea Party seemingly handing everyone their asses. We'll see. 

The event hasn't even happened yet, but the fallout is already underway:
GOP Ponders Perry: Savior or Flop? from Politico
"To a sizable slice of the Republican base, Rick Perry looks like the conservative, charismatic presidential candidate they have been waiting for in the 2012 campaign. To many GOP elites, however, the Texan looks more like a general election flop in the making."

And then there's this:
Rick Perry's 'Texas Miracle' Includes Crowded Homeless Shelters, Low-Wage Jobs, Worker Deaths (Jason Cherkis) from the Huffington Post
"Dig beneath the talking points and you find a more troubling picture: rising unemployment, a glut of low-wage jobs without benefits, overcrowded homeless shelters and public schools facing billions in budget cuts."

Tim Pawlenty to Pull Ads Ahead of Ames Straw Poll from Politico
"The former Minnesota governor’s presidential campaign says it’s not short on cash, but simply planning to divert money into turning out supporters at the Aug. 13 event that’s a traditional test of campaign strength."
Hopefully, this is evidence of the beginning of the end of this jerk's quixotic campaign.

Speaking of jerks:
Santorum To Give Out Free Jelly At Ames from Talking Points Memo
"Rick Santorum may not have raised a lot of money or attracted much support in the polls, but his campaign for the presidency will be trying a new tack for votes at the Ames Iowa Straw Poll: Some delicious homemade peach jam."
O.M.G.!  No doubt a harbinger of how he would deal with North Korea.

Jon Huntsman's Campaign: Inside the 'Drama' from Politico
"A blistering internal feud in the Jon Huntsman presidential campaign is erupting into public view, with dueling camps trading charges and an exodus of campaign officials."
This item explains in part why Huntsman's campaign has been so lame thus far.

AGING NUGGET!!
Life Gets Better at 50 (Casey Schwartz) from the Daily Beast
"Obama’s hitting the big 5-0 today—and while his basketball game may suffer with time, his job performance doesn’t have to, say researchers. Casey Schwartz on other surprising new findings about aging."

DEEPLY DEPRESSING SCIENCE NUGGET!!
69% Say It’s Likely Scientists Have Falsified Global Warming Research from Rasmussen Reports
"While a majority of Americans nationwide continue to acknowledge significant disagreement about global warming in the scientific community, most go even further to say some scientists falsify data to support their own beliefs."
As I have noted before, I put this debacle squarely at the feet of scientists and their professional organizations and journals.  Since 1990, these actors have largely absented themselves from the messy political arena, ceding that territory to the worst elements of the right-wing punditry and their servile think tank mouthpieces.  In the US, the scientific community has (to be blunt and as this poll clearly demonstrates) failed to properly inform the public.  If the world's environment were LIKE FOR REAL at risk, where has been the urgency from scientists?  They have spent more time wringing their hands than actually GOING AFTER the misinformation machine that has been going full-bore for decades now.  Like the Democrats in Congress, scientists need to stop playing academic "nicey-nice" with their critics and start bringing a "take-no-prisoners" messaging to an issue where so much is at stake.

KITTEN PHOTO NUGGET!!
Kittens in Afghanistan Rescued by Marines (PHOTOS) from the Washington Post
"Three U.S. Marines stationed in Afghanistan rescued a group of kittens with the help of animal rescue group Nowzad Dogs. "You just find them all over the place," said Corp. Brian Chambers."