REUTERS/Jim Young –The two words to listen for in Obama’s Oval Office address tonight are “carbon pricing.” It is still unclear whether the president will focus on proximate fallout of the spill or “Go Big” on climate. –Possible tea leaves: Obama sent a letter yesterday to members of political arm Organizing for America roughly sketching [...]
Reuel Marc Gerecht, who knows Iran well, has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times today about how President Obama should deal with the Iran’s green movement. He is no less critical than John McCain, but considerably more subtle–and I think his main proposal, of giving tech support to the Iranian people, making it [...]
I’m generally in favor of President Obama’s efforts to prevent massive layoffs of public employees at the state and local level. But–you knew a “but” was coming, right?–there have to be some strings attached. I’m not sure Charles Lane is right that this isn’t as bad as it seems. The pain won’t be distributed equally. [...]
Manning, S.C. At his home Monday, Alvin Greene spent the day fielding phone calls, dozens of them from fans and reporters and bookers all across the country. Nearly a week earlier, he had pulled off a major upset, winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, despite no real campaign. “People are [...]
Of course, he apologized: I have seen the video posted on several blogs. I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction, and I apologize to all involved. Throughout my many years of service to the people of North Carolina, I have always tried to treat people from all viewpoints with respect. No matter how intrusive and [...]
We all know much of politics is theater–the art of convincing constituents that you’ve correctly diagnosed a problem, that you share their interests and feel their pain. This has been truer than usual in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The federal government lacks the technical expertise to cap a leak spewing a mile [...]
Politico is reporting that House Dems have reached a deal with the National Rifle Association on legislation that would force groups and businesses to disclose top donors if they chose to run ads or send out mass mailing in the final months before an election. The legislation is in response to the Supreme Court decision [...]
This priceless photo that’s currently making the rounds — James Fallows calls it the best of the World Cup — is purportedly of Obama’s glee and David Beckham’s consternation just after England’s goalkeeper flubbed their match with Team USA over the weekend. Too bad it’s a blatant fake. The reflection in the table shows the [...]
Lots of news and “news” bubbling about. The “news” is that there is great mineral wealth in Afghanistan–an estimated $1 trillion, according to the New York Times. This has been known for some time, but has been unexploited as a potential source of national stability and prosperity for reasons that the Times piece doesn’t fully [...]
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza –Obama departs on a whirlwind tour of the Gulf Coast today with stops in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida before delivering his first Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night. Reportedly included in the speech: a case for comprehensive energy and climate legislation, including some form of carbon [...]
