Sarkozy vs. Obama on the Nature of Global Politics

October 2, 2009

Krauthammer unpacks the lessons: “When France chides you for appeasement, you know you’re scraping bottom. Just how low we’ve sunk was demonstrated by the Obama administration’s satisfaction when Russia’s president said of Iran, after meeting President Obama at the U.N., that ‘sanctions are seldom productive, but they are sometimes inevitable.’”

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Abortion Causes Major Rift Among House Democrats on Health Care Measure

October 1, 2009

Bart Stupak is a stubborn fellow: “Leaders of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus — which claims 190 members — decided they are unwilling to go any further in what they say is already a compromise on their part on the issue, said Rep. Diana DeGette.” Stupak will still offer his amendment on the floor.

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Analysis: Is Al Qaeda on the Decline?

October 1, 2009

“Al Qaeda is very much on the run and wounded, albeit not yet dead. Its decline has come as Muslims around the world and the governments that represent them increasingly see the movement for what it is, a cult of hatred and death that will just as easily target a Muslim as an American.”

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Senate Majority Leader Reid Cancels Recess to Avoid Scaring Weaker Members With Constituents

October 1, 2009

This would be the more accurate description of what this means: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has canceled the Senate’s Columbus Day recess so that lawmakers can focus on passing healthcare reform legislation during the week of October 12.” Reid, fighting for his own political future, is cognizant that this legislation is at risk.

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Comcast in Talks to Buy NBC-Universal from General Electric

October 1, 2009

“Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, is in talks to buy the entertainment giant NBC-Universal from General Electric, according to knowledgeable individuals… Two individuals informed about the meeting said that a deal had already been completed at a purchase price of $35 billion.”

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On War, Obama May Have to Turn to GOP for Support

October 1, 2009

Throughout 2008, most left of center politicians, including Obama, argued seriously that Iraq had lead us to neglect the important conflict in Afghanistan. This may have been true. But now that they’re firmly in power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, Hill Democrats want nothing to do with it. About that bipartisanship stuff?

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Spendthrift and Tightwad: Why Do We Grow Up Thinking About Money the Way We Do?

September 30, 2009

Adam Sternbergh poses an interesting question: “what if thriftiness is not a virtue at all? What if being thrifty is not a question of choosing between good and bad behavior but is instead akin to a character trait, like being shy? What if some people are born thrifty and some are not?”

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Is Germany's Angela Merkel the New Margaret Thatcher?

September 30, 2009

Germany is going to have a much different Angela this time around: “the country has woken up to the fact that Merkel II is going to lead a very different coalition to that led by Merkel I. And given her chameleon-like capacity for adapting, Angela Merkel could yet turn out to be Germany’s Maggie Thatcher.”

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America's Standing at the United Nations: The Audacity of the Meek

September 30, 2009

When France’s President is deriding your “illusions” about the world… “Who is he to declare a no-polar world? Only the leader of the most powerful nation in the world would have the nerve to announce to the world that from now on, by his decree, no nation will be more powerful than any other.”

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Obama's Very Republican Problem: It's Not What You Think

September 30, 2009

Jay Cost: “We all know that President Obama has a Republican problem,” those troublesome Capitol Hill folks. “However, I think he might also be developing a *republican* problem. Namely, I think he is having trouble keeping his ego within the boundaries of an office that fundamentally reflects the republican quality of this country.”

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