With Giffords Shooting, a Grim Milestone

Mitt Romney: Dazed And Confused on New START
Mitt Romney campaigning in Ames, Iowa, May 2007. I realize that the 2007-2008 presidential Debates were an eternity ago in terms of “political time”, but I’m resurrecting the following quote from Mitt Romney for a reason. He was asked about his views on Vladimir Putin. As part of his response, he outlined his rather scrambled view of international politics: What we have today in the world is four major, if you will, strategies at play. One, there are the nations with the energy...

Could defeat for Democrats be good for the world?
U.S. President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks at the Providence Convention Center during a rally for Congressional Candidate David Cicilline in Providence, R.I., Oct. 25, 2010. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) Washington — There was no mention of Aqua Buddhas or witchcraft or the Tea Party. Most of the people in the room had not even heard of Glenn Beck and didn’t quite get the humor in Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.” But in the packed auditor...

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Could Defeat for Democrats Be Good for the World? Could defeat for Democrats be good for the world? Washington - There was no mention of Aqua Buddhas or witchcraft or the Tea Party. Most of the people in the room had not even heard of Glenn Beck and didn't quite get the humor in Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear." But in the packed auditorium in the U.S. State Department, 100 international Journalists visiting from around the world were wondering what today's Election would mean...

Learning the wrong lessons
Violet Socks: There’s a remarkable piece in the Times this morning: Young Voters Say They Feel Abandoned. It’s about the Enthusiasm Gap heading into the mid-terms, which will likely see the formerly pro-Obama college crowd staying away from the polls in droves. The remarkable thing about the article is that the reporters cannot figure out why this might be happening. There is not a single reference to the Obama Administration’s stunning failure to deliver on its campaign promises (both i

November 2
November 2 Tuesday, 11/2/2010 - 9:31 am by Tim Price | Post a Comment What you need to know to navigate today’s most critical Debates. Where do I vote? (WaPo) You might have heard that today’s Election is kind of a Big Deal. No matter who you’re voting for, make sure you cast your ballot and make your voice heard. 5 Reasons Republicans Could Do Even Better Than Expected (NYTimes) Nate Silver outlines the Democratic doomsday scenario (and the antidote, for hyperventilating pr...

Senate needs to confirm ambassadors to Turkey and Azerbaijan
Turkey is a significant political and economic actor that has played a crucial role in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Europe in the last decade. The country is a valuable ally to the US and NATO in maintaining peace and stability as we deal with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, aggressive Rhetoric from Iran, and the omnipresent threat of international Terrorism.  It is also home to an incredibly rich culture, a thriving economy, and a dynamic, young population. Yet the U.S. Emba...

Solar industry gives a shout out to GOP friends
With big GOP gains looming on Election night, the solar-energy industry’s main trade group put out the word that they’re eager to work with both parties. In a prepared statement Tuesday evening, Solar Energy Industries Association CEO Rhone Resch noted that, “No matter who wins Tuesday's Midterm Elections, we stand ready to work with them to continue advancing solar Energy.” His statement steers clear of calling for Controversial policies like Climate Legislation or a nationwide r

2010 Midterms: Early Exits Look in Line with Polling
Here are some early data from today’s Exit Polls: Voters around the country are intensely worried about The Economy and dissatisfied with the way the Federal Government is working. According to an Associated Press analysis of preliminary Exit Poll results and pre-election polls, voters say The Economy eclipses any other issue as their top concern. Nearly all voters are worried about the future direction of The Economy, and about 4 in 10 say they are worse off financially than they were t...

Vote, Vote, Vote!
I’m taking my kids to the polls today. They are big Russ Feingold fans. The polls are not looking good for Feingold or for other Democrats in key races around the nation--at least according to the latest data on Talking Points Memo. The Feingold campaign's internal polls have been looking more optimistic. It really comes down to turnout today. (And so far, it looks like turnout is high.) Especially in Wisconsin, rightwingers have been working hard to suppress the vote. Billboards in largel...

Jeffrey Feltman logic to Syria: "Commit suicide & maybe (maybe) we'll talk about those 'Heights'..."
".... "Syria and the United States have taken some modest steps to see if we can improve the bilateral relationship," said Jeffrey D. Feltman, the assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs. "But this cannot go very far as long as Syria's friends are undermining stability in Lebanon. We have made that absolutely clear to the Syrians. There is a cost to the potential in our bilateral relationship to what Syria's friends are doing in Lebanon."...... There are growing concerns about Le...

At Hasidic Breakfast, Schumer Goes Hawkish
On Sunday Sen. Charles Schumer keynoted the Agudath Israel Legislative Breakfast and delivered a strong defense of President Obama's Drone strikes into the Afghanistan-Pakistani border, along with calling for increased pressure on Iran and Palestine. The address came two days after the Yemen Bomb Scare. Schumer singled out President Barack Obama for praise, and said that Terrorism cells had moved to places like Yemen and Somalia because Obama's Drone strikes had been so successful along the Af...

Despite Non-Partisan Billing of Rally to Restore Sanity, 86 Percent Said Theyd Vote Democrat on Tuesday
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 By Penny Starr Comedian Jon Stewart, host of the "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Washington, D.C., Oct. 30, 2010. (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) - A Straw Poll of 456 people who attended comedian Jon Stewart’s  “Rally to Restore Sanity” on the National Mall on Saturday revealed that the majority approve of President Barack Obama’s policies and said they would vote Democratic in Tuesday’s Elections. A USAction Straw Poll of rally parti

Big changes coming post election to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
After tonight's election, the division of power inside the Senate is set to shift dramatically -- and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) could see a huge change in its Makeup, with an influx of new, young GOP members and the exit of some top Committee Democrats. If Republicans gain seats in the Senate, as is widely expected, several GOP senators  are expected to move off of the Foreign Relations Committee as assignments are reorganized according to new party ratios and new pecking...

About War Room
I know Christine O'Donnell is a clown -- and, furthermore, I know that reporters and Liberal Bloggers fixate on her because it's easier to laugh at this clown than to worry about the clowns who will actually win today -- but I was sort of surprised to see this: GOP Senate Candidates have largely focused on domestic matters during their campaigns, and only Delaware GOP Candidate Christine O'Donnell, who is not expected to win, has expressed a desire to join [the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...

What about foreign policy?
by Peter Henne I just wanted to throw in my Foreign Policy two cents today. As I have said before, there has been depressingly little in terms of Foreign Policy Debates this election season, primarily due to the dearth of internationally-oriented thinking on the Republican side. I first noticed this back in the primary season, specifically the PA race, when the Republican Candidate--Pat Toomey--was pretty harsh in his critique of Democrats Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak but barely mentioned any...

Man who threatened Obama's life jailed
A Texas man who threatened U.S. President Barack Obama on craigslist has been sentenced to 27 months behind bars. Brian Dean Miller, 43, of Dallas, Texas, made the threatening posts on the classifieds site in March, after the Obama Administration passed the Controversial Health-care Reform Bill. Titled "Obama must die," the post read: "I am dedicating my life to the death of Obama and every employee of the Federal Government." Miller posted another message later that day that read: "I am active...

After 2010 elections, Obama will look abroad
Not that much of the speculation about how President Obama will respond to the Democrats' likely losses in Tuesday's Elections has concerned Foreign affairs -- which is surprising. True, international issues -- from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the Middle East Peace process -- have hardly figured in congressional Campaigns across the country. Yet the conventional wisdom says the Midterms' principal result will be a deadlocked Congress in which Obama's major domestic initiatives will st...

Visiting Malaysia, Hillary Clinton says she expects Obama to stay the course after elections
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, smiles after being received by Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman at SkyPark Subang Terminal on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 in Subang, Malaysia. (Evan Vucci/AP) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she expects President Barack Obama to stay the course on domestic and Foreign Policy even if Republicans make big gains, as expected, in hotly contested congressional Midterm Elections. Clinton ...

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - US shifts G20 currency focus to trade deficits
US officials said they will push for firmer commitments at the forthcoming G20 meeting in Seoul to correct global economic imbalances, but played down the chance of a rapid resolution of tensions over China’s currency. Speaking on Monday ahead of next week’s meeting of G20 heads of government in South Korea, Mike Froman, the White House deputy National Security adviser and working-level representative to the grouping, said it was a chance for incremental change. EDITOR’S CHOICE Seoul opt

Why is Hillary Clinton hiding? Perhaps it's because her foreign policy has been a failure
Hillary Clinton visits the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia today Photo: AP As Toby Harnden reports, Hillary Clinton has opted to stay well clear of today’s Midterms, sitting them out in a two-week tour of Asia and Australasia. In fact she’s been as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel in the past few days. That’s a perfectly astute move from her point of view. Firstly, she can argue, it’s her job as Secretary of State to represent America on the world stage, and should be above

Durban III Set for New York City in September 2011
Get alerts when there is a New article that might interest you. The United Nations is planning to hold “Durban III” in New York City in September 2011, marking the tenth anniversary of the 2001 Durban conference, and the non-governmental forum which preceded it, held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. Durban I produced the infamous Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), which charges Israel with Racism but names no other State in the world. Durban II, held in Geneva in Apri...

So Ronery
This is by Curtis Sittenfeld This is Curtis - Let the game begin. From Slate - … my own feelings haven’t changed at all. Two years after voting for him, I’m just as exhilarated as Oprah Winfrey was in Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008. You might say, to borrow the accusation frequently leveled at the 2008 media, that I’ve remained in the tank for Obama. The only problem is that, currently, I seem to be in the tank by myself. Earlier this fall, when even NPR hosts were making j...

So Ronery
This is by Curtis Sittenfeld This is Curtis - Let the game begin. From Slate - … my own feelings haven’t changed at all. Two years after voting for him, I’m just as exhilarated as Oprah Winfrey was in Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008. You might say, to borrow the accusation frequently leveled at the 2008 media, that I’ve remained in the tank for Obama. The only problem is that, currently, I seem to be in the tank by myself. Earlier this fall, when even NPR hosts were making j...

The Fraud Started At the Very Top: With Government Leaders
The government's entire strategy now - as during the S&L crisis - is to cover up how bad things are ("the entire strategy is to keep people from getting the facts"). But it is not only a matter of covering up Fraud that has already happened. The government also created an environment which greatly encouraged Fraud. Here are just a few of many potential examples: The government-sponsored rating agencies committed massive Fraud (and see this) The Treasury Department allowed banks to "cook th...

Baseball and the Polls
Here’s something to restore sanity on Election Day, amid all the absurdity: Roger Angell on the World Series. (He’s been writing about the Playoffs at our Sporting Scene blog; see, especially, his look at Tim Lincecum’s pitching motion.) He was hoping for a win by the Giants—“my old nine,” he calls them, looking back to their New York Days. Angell, and San Francisco, got just that. I was cheering for the Giants, too, though not because of George W. Bush’...