Robert Kagan writes today: This administration pays lip-service to “multilateralism,” but it is a multilateralism of accommodating autocratic rivals, not of solidifying relations with longtime democratic allies. Sarah Palin said it first, though it took her fewer words to do it, while primarily stressing the “reset button on our relations with Israel,” using “world’s worst [...] [...more]
–originally posted on Huffington Post– The Roman Catholic bishops signaled Thursday that if agreement is reached with House leaders on anti-abortion language, the church would work to get the votes needed to protect the provisions in the Senate — and thereby advance the shared goal with Democrats of health care reform. “We would strongly urge everyone, [...] [...more]
–updated below– Newsweek was here first. Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman getting the story at the end of January. DOJ official David Margolis has overruled the Office of Professional Responsibility, saying John Yoo and Jay Bybee were not guilty of misconduct on the Bush-Cheney era torture memos, they simply “exercised poor judgment”. Ya think? From the Washington [...] [...more]
Town Hall in Saudi Arabia Let’s have some fun. (After all, it’s Mardi Gras!) Clinton sure did when the question about Sarah Palin came out of the blue. And as expected, a few Tea Party activists will meet with Michael Steele. Speaking of the Tea Party, they got a big write up in the New York [...] [...more]
“I’m reluctant to second-guess the military in this regard. When the chiefs come forward and say, ‘We think we can do it,’ then it strikes me that it’s — it’s time to reconsider the policy.” – Dick Cheney, former vice president Candidate Obama pledged to do it. Pres. Obama promised to do it, renewing his promise [...] [...more]
Some news that’s surfacing slowly is Iran’s new bluster on refining higher grade uranium. Russia and Israel seem to be talking the same language, while China still isn’t willing to sign on to harsh sanctions, something SecDef Gates is promising will come sooner rather than later. Even as it will take some time to reconfigure [...] [...more]
–updated– This photo came via email. As you all know, I have a different opinion on this one, but thought you’d appreciate it. The floor is open tonight. Favorite of mine today comes from Dana Milbank, surprisingly: Mullen deserves medal for Senate testimony backing open military service by gays. I’ll second that. Mike Mullen’s 42 years in the [...] [...more]
–updated– The video is a demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem that ended in arrests and detentions, which caused quite a stir back in January. Discontent in some quarters is rising in Israel over freedom of speech and assembly issues, but also the rights of women, including a dispute about bus segregation that’s turned into quite [...] [...more]
On Thursday, I heard Eugene Robinson on “Hardball” talk about something he’d heard about DADT from a little rat in the White House. It was clear he was very uncomfortable about reporting it. “What I heard this morning from somebody at the White House was probably not this year. But, maybe we would be [...] [...more]
Tit for tat, presidential style or actually not so presidential, though Obama is only a politician, so notwithstanding his “change the tone in Washington” lectures, he’s as guilty as the next when it suits him. However, when you have a Supreme Court Justice impersonating a right-winger like Joe “you lie” Wilson, the whole event turns [...] [...more]
–updated– A Democratic operative familiar with the get-out-the-vote push by Martha Coakley’s team and boosted late in the game by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, says that outreach workers in and around Boston have been stunned by the number of Democrats and Obama supporters who are waving them off, saying they’ll vote for Scott Brown. – [...] [...more]
updated Obama needs to stop playing inside games with bankers and insurance lobbyists, and start being a fighter for regular Americans. Otherwise, he can kiss it all goodbye. – Robert Kuttner (Robert Kuttner is Co-Founder and Co-Editor of The American Prospect, from Massachusetts) No one ever said what Kuttner wrote about Obama above about Martin Luther King, [...] [...more]
The Politico headline is the jumping off point. The subtitle the lede: Harold Ford’s political weakness may be his high-paid job at Merrill Lynch and a gilded Manhattan life. Yeah, because we all know how much the American electorate is ready to sign on to that this year. Mr. Ford declined to discuss what he is paid [...] [...more]
Who knows, maybe New York will make Harold Ford, Jr. lean left. But that simply hasn’t been his record, regardless of his protestations in the New York Post, of all papers, today. Recently, Mr. Ford said he’d “evolved” on gay marriage (“Today” show video), having voted against it in Tennessee, supporting the Defense of Marriage [...] [...more]
Ted Olson and David Boies partner up. Opening statement today, with one small section below: First – Marriage is vitally important in American society. Second – By denying gay men and lesbians the right to marry, Proposition 8 works a grievous harm on the plaintiffs and other gay men and lesbians throughout California, and adds yet another [...] [...more]
