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Geraldine Ferraro, who died today, was a trailblazer for women in American politics–someone praised for her smarts and toughness (as well as, in this tribute by a female journalist, her fashion sense). The New York-born Ferraro was a lawyer, prosecutor and Congresswoman until Walter Mondale named to his presidential ticket in 1984, …

Jerusalem

Just had dinner with a young Palestinian activist who told me that his friends were feeling more positive toward the US than they had in years because of the military action in Libya. “It’s on Al-Jazeera all the time,” he said, “Libyans dancing in the streets and saying, ‘Merci Obama, Merci Sarkozy.’ Everyone was furious …

Jerusalem

It is very easy to overplay the news that some Al Qaeda sympathizers have joined the ranks of the Libyan rebels–as Drudge, who leads with it, does this morning–but that doesn’t diminish the irony: the same sort of Islamic extremists who were our “freedom-fighters” against the Russian puppet regime in Afghanistan (and later …

Jerusalem

I woke up this morning to find that Bob Herbert, whom I’ve known for 25 years, is leaving the New York Times. His last column sums up the views he’s been professing from that lofty perch for the past 18 years–and a good deal of what I’ve been feeling lately.

Politico‘s solid piece on Mitt Romney’s 2012 strategy includes this passage:

Much will depend on the still-unsettled primary calendar and the eventual field of candidates. But the former Massachusetts governor’s aim, according to multiple aides and advisers, is to exceed expectations his team is working feverishly to lower in Iowa, to

…

Several have noted Gingrich’s “evolving” position on intervention in Libya over the last few days. In a bit of policy gymnastics labeled “an epic flip-flop” by Taegan Goddard, Gingrich first said on March 7:

“Exercise a no-fly zone this evening, communicate to the Libyan military that Gadhafi was gone and that the sooner they switch

…

Massimo has a sharp piece in our new issue about United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, one of the key Obama administration voices for intervention in Libya. In it, he refers to the remorse Rice has expressed for not doing more, as a Clinton White House staffer, to prevent the Rwandan genocide.

As it happens, one of the best accounts …

By Mike Murphy

Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann is now threatening us with the idea of exploring a Presidential race, it was announced today. Well first, enough with the exploratory committees. They are a tired gimmick in Presidential races. Just admit you are running, or don’t run. As per a Michele Bachmann candidacy, …

Fareed Zakaria does a good job laying out many of the perils and possibilities of U.S. military action in Libya in this week’s print edition. Fareed favors US military action in the mildest, most reluctant and reasonable manner imaginable; I have opposed it, less mildly but with equal reluctance. I agree with Fareed in this respect: I …

The political climate is what some have called a “perfect storm” for anti-abortion activists seeking to curb the procedure and make direct attacks on Roe v. Wade. Droves of social conservatives have taken office in recent elections, angst over health care reform continues, and the Planned Parenthood “sting” has given opponents …