The New Republic

I have my qualms, as you may know, about Barack Obama, and most especially about what his foreign policy might be.  If elected (and actually before he were to be elected), the first decision he would have to make would be who would represent him in the transition to power from early November to January 20.  And, frankly, I get the shudders since he has indicated that, among others, they would be READ MORE >>

Let the Pandering Begin (Or Accelerate): [Jon Cohen and Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post]: “Immigration now stands as the top issue for the state's GOP voters. ... The emergence of immigration as a major issue in Iowa, where three in 10 GOP voters call it a top concern, creates an early test of its political potency.”   READ MORE >>

Jumping Ship: [Amy Lorentzen, AP]: “On Tuesday, [Obama] brought out a group of policy advisers including Tony Lake, a national security adviser to former President Clinton, and Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African Affairs under Clinton.”   READ MORE >>

Edwards’s First Lady, Not Named Elizabeth: [Julie Bosman, The New York Times]: “This afternoon at an Edwards campaign event, [Iowa’s First Lady] Mrs. Culver announced that she would endorse Mr. Edwards in the Iowa caucus, giving him a small but well-timed nod in a week full of competing endorsements across the Democratic field.”   READ MORE >>

I realize this is a bit late, but because it's in a column where people wouldn't necessarily expect it, I figure it's worth linking to Paul Slanksy's "Giuliani Time!" from the Shouts and Murmurs section of this week's New Yorker. This funny, multiple choice quiz is as damaging a takedown as I've read of the former mayor and a good briefing on the dark side of his reign for those who don't remember it. For example: READ MORE >>

Obama Meets Freud: [Kevin Merida, The Washington Post]: “That visit set in motion a journey to make sense of his father, so that [Obama] could make sense of himself. It was the last time he would ever see his father, whose squandered promise and abandonment of his son have molded the man who is now running for president.”   READ MORE >>

Immigration and Iowa: [Monica Davey, The New York Times]: “The nation’s struggle over immigration may seem distant in states like Iowa, hundreds of miles from any border, but the debate is part of daily life here, more than ever now as residents prepare to pick a president.”   READ MORE >>

Hillary’s Sinking Ship: [Adam Nagourney and Patrick Healy, The New York Times]: “Nowhere are her problems more on display than [Iowa], where success lies in building a person-to-person network of supporters. And nowhere is the Clinton campaign … working more urgently to recalibrate and head off defeat as the Jan. 3 caucus approaches.”   READ MORE >>

A rachmones oif im.   Oh, pity on him. Read here Of course, Norman could go to Israel on "the law of return."  Or maybe the Palestinians would take him, the one Jew they'd welcome. READ MORE >>

Last week I posted a SPINE denigrating the importance of Oprah endorsing Obama and Barbara Streisand endorsing Hillary. Well, I was right about Streisand, though it could matter just a bit in Malibu and Santa Monica.  Elsewhere it was a non-event.  And certainly in Iowa or New Hampshire. READ MORE >>