President Obama spent the morning at his daughter Sasha’s basketball game. As he cheered on his child’s team, his aides were cheering on apparent progress in Egypt. In Munich, Hillary Clinton seemed to throw her weight behind a transition process led by current Vice President Omar Suleiman, who only days ago took to the Egyptian airwaves …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Egypt Round-up
A few days ago, I wondered whether the events in Egypt would follow the path of Tiananmen in 1989 or Moscow in 1991. I feared Tiananmen, but that hasn’t happened. The passivity of the hollowed out Russian military in Red Square seems an unlikely path as well. The New York Times has a good piece on the quietly decisive role the Egyptian …
No, Seriously, Ophthalmologist Senator Fights Nanny State Imposition…
Our esteemed colleague Michael Grunwald rides to Rand Paul’s defense:
Of course he’ll take the usual Washington abuse for ignoring senatorial groupthink, but Paul was actually right to vote no. As the old saying goes: You don’t have to make a federal case of it. And I’ll out-extreme the extremist: States shouldn’t be legislating
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1,000 Words
From The White House Flickr page. Photo dated September 1, 2010.
What Barack Obama Has Not Said About Egypt
After a week of limited access to the press, President Obama took one question on the situation in Egypt today. His answer echoed his past statements. He said Egyptians would determine their own destiny: “It is not us who will determine that future.” He said violence and the denial of the protesters’ basic rights to expression must be …
The TSA Labor Saga Comes to a Conclusion
Remember when President Obama nominated airport security vet Erroll Southers to run the Transportation Security Administration? And Jim DeMint placed a hold on his nomination because he was worried the guy would allow TSA screeners to unionize? And nothing happened for a long time? And then Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to ignite his …
Neo-con or Paleo-con: What Will Palin Say on Egypt?
Tonight at 11 pm eastern time Sarah Palin will give the keynote address at Young America’s Foundation’s celebration of the centenary of Reagan’s birth. Surely she will address events in Egypt. So where on the fragmented Republican foreign policy spectrum will Palin position herself?
Neo-cons like Elliott Abrams have come out for …
Will Mitt Romney Praise President Obama’s Handling Of Egypt At CPAC?
A week from today, Mitt Romney will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He won’t be the only potential 2012 candidate at the conference, but it is clear that he hopes to distinguish himself. If he does not announce his 2012 campaign in the speech–at CPAC in 2008 he officially left his quest for the presidency–I …
White House Imitates Arch UK Comedy
A friend emails noting Mike Allen’s “Playbook” mention today of David Edelman, who at 26 is “reputedly the youngest-EVER National Security Staff director.”
I have no reason to think Edelman, whom I don’t know, is anything but superbly qualified for his job. But Allen’s observation does call to mind this great scene from the British …
John Kerry as Diplomatic Utility Man
Crowley wrote back in December:
[The WikiLeaks cables] support the idea that Kerry has been an effective envoy for the Obama administration–a kind of utility player who can lay diplomatic groundwork for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or step into a crisis where other officials can’t–as when he assuaged an ornery Afghan president
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Ben Bernanke vs. the Tea Party
A big early test of the power dynamic within the new Republican Party will come this spring (or possibly in early June) when the U.S. runs out of borrowing authority and Congress will have to vote on whether to raise the federal debt limit. Some Tea Party-backed conservatives in Congress, many of whom ran have vowed to end Washington’s …
Ophthalmologist Senator Fights Nanny State Imposition of Non-Blind Pilots
Rand Paul was the sole vote (96-1) against an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that would make flashing laser pointers at airplanes a federal offense. He explained:
“I think that it is a bad idea to point lasers at pilots,” Paul told The Daily Caller. “There are a lot of states that already
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Morning Must Reads: Departure
Anti-government protesters take part in Friday prayers at Tahrir Square in Cairo February 4, 2011. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)
–Tens of thousands turn out for “Day of Departure” protests in Cairo.
–The Obama administration is angling to get Mubarak out and Vice President/intel chief Suleiman into power with the army’s …