The View From Here

Some morning reads

1. A blog, "Editor's Cut," for The Nation: "Redefining bipartisanship at a time when the GOP has become a male, pale and stale party committed to deficit demagoguery and fearmongering is the common sense and, I'd even argue, pragmatic course."  Why Obama should focus on rallying Democratic support to pass sweeping reforms.
2. E.J. Dionne, who appeared on Meet the Press yesterday, claims that Obama does not need to offer an unforgivingly detailed health reform proposal but does need "an iron will" to enact real reform.  Dionne articulates the challenges and solutions. 
3. Outlining the prospects of the climate bill, having passed the House on Friday, successfully pushing through the Senate, the political hurdles abound.
4. As Ahmadinejad consolidates his power, Moussavi faces important decisions and challenges.  The Washington Post reports from Tehran.
5. Is yesterday's guest Governor Mitt Romney posed for a 2012 run?  Politico suggests that he is.

Some reads for today...

1. Is the Obama administration overextending itself?  Peggy Noonan wants Obama to tighten his focus on the economy and national security. 
2. Charles Krauthammer claims that the Iranian revolution has reached a crossroads; either Mousavi becomes an Iranian Boris Yeltsin, or the regime will quash the uprising as the Chinese did at Tiananmen Square.
3. Paul Krugman argues that Obama overvalues bipartisan support, and that he is seeking common ground on health care reform where none exists. 
4. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs raises money for the Capital Area Food Bank with the help of a dunk tank and the White House press corps. 
5. John Nichols assesses Michael Jackson’s influence on American society and politics.  Tony Campbell says that Jackson’s career helped pave the way for Barack Obama’s election. 

What I'm reading this morning

1. In the latest Time, Joe Klein claims that the US decision on "whether or not to negotiate, now that the Iranian government has disgraced itself in the eyes of the world, is sure to be a defining moment for the Obama Administration." 
2. The Commerce Department reports that the GDP fell at a 5.5% annual rate in the first quarter of 2009 signaling that "the US economy just went through its worst two quarters in more than 60 years." 
3. President Obama, in his bid to reach compromise on healthcare reform, may be willing to turn back on a campaign promise not to tax health benefits.  Meanwhile, Karl Rove writes that "Health care may actually be an issue that helps resurrect the GOP" in today's Wall Street Journal.  Rove puts into perspective Obama's approval ratings, policy proposals, and success outlook for the summer. 
4. North Korea vows a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" would follow any provocation by the U.S. as thousands of North Koreans gather in Pyongyang to denounce the U.S.  Just yesterday, Obama renewed economic sanctions on North Korea. 
5. Elliot Abrams writes that in calling for a total settlement freeze, Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama are reneging on America's previous agreements with Israel. 
6. What broader implication does Sanford's affair hold for the state of the GOP?  Will Republicans be able to mount a strong opposition and comeback?
7. Judge Sotomayor's critics say she is a racial extremist and an activist judge.  But Adam Cohen reports that Sotomayor's record on civil rights cases indicates that her critics have it all wrong.

What I had my eye on this morning

1. Obama turns critical on Iran's regime but does not depart from his original strategy.  Is Obama's master plan to negotiate Iran out of its nuclear ambitions moot regardless of the outcome of the current turmoil?  Jonah Goldberg writes in today's Chicago Tribune. 
2. "As the price of oil goes down, the pace of freedom goes up." Thomas Friedman explains that the issue of US engagement with Iran is not about talks or no talks but about how to gain leverage.  How reducing dependence on foreign oil - in particular, Iran's oil - could cure several issues at once. 
3. On a day when Obama sends representatives to Congress to push healthcare reform, Obama "should come out swinging for the public option."  Why healthcare reform is being held up on Capitol Hill and why the public option is part of the solution, not the problem.    On the other hand, the Washington Post reports the public option to be the most contentious and divisive aspect of the healthcare issue.
4. On the eve of the 59th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, the AP reports today that North Korea has threatened to "wipe out the aggressors [Americans] on the globe once and for all." 
5. While the fight against global warming has recently been overshadowed, John Podesta argues that the House's American Clean Energy and Security Act is a key first step to combat climate change, "with all its scientific, economic, energy, security, and humanitarian dimensions."
6. Where was Governor Sanford of South Carolina?  The State newspaper catches up with the Governor coming back from his secret trip in Argentina. 

Some reads for today...

1. Richard Cohen commends President Obama for recognizing the limits of American influence in Iran and avoiding the shoot-from-the-hip style favored by John McCain. 

2. Paul Krugman argues that “centrist” Democrats reluctant to support a public option are obstructing meaningful change in American health care and ignoring public opinion. 

3. Should Obama be worried about his poll numbers among Independent voters? 

4. Four Iranian soccer players have been “retired” from the national team for wearing green armbands during a recent World Cup qualifying match. 

5. Jonathan Chait says that Obama is using the same political tactics against Ahmadenijad in his foreign policy that he uses against the GOP in his domestic policy.   

A few reads from this morning

1. In the latest Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria provides a detailed, historical look at the Iranian regime and how in the past week its “ideology has suffered a fatal blow.”   Meanwhile, the cycle of protest and crackdown persists in the streets of Tehran. 
2. Explaining the disconnect between Obama’s vow to lower healthcare costs and Congress’ pledge to expand coverage: how to achieve a critical balance.
3. The Washington Post reports that a projected climb in unemployment taints Obama’s message of optimism on the economy, where are the innovative solutions towards boosting employment? 
4. President Asif Ali Zardar of Pakistan issues an urgent plea for international cooperation on combating terrorism, refusing to accept the dire consequences of allowing Taliban and al-Qaeda forces to flourish. “Democracy must succeed. The forces of extremism must be vanquished. Failure is not an option; not for us, not for the world.”   This morning, a top al-Qaeda official claimed the terrorist group would use Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal in its battle against the U.S. 
5. While a U.S. Navy Destroyer trails a North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit weapons, North Korea reminds the U.S. that it has nuclear weapons and is not afraid to strike back if provoked. 
6. Al Hunt assesses Obama’s communicating abilities, likening him to Ronald Reagan and claiming, “An effective communicator doesn’t assure a successful presidency; without it, success isn’t possible.” 

A few morning reads

1. The upheaval in Iran “is for real.” David Ignatius claims that the Iranian “regime’s nightmare is coming true,” and that the US ought to wait on its agenda of engagement. Gerald Seib, on the other hand, writes in today’s WSJ that our ability to predict what will come of Iran’s internal unrest is shrouded by great uncertainty. 
2. Paul Krugman sizes up Obama’s financial reform plan: some positive regulatory reforms but offers no measures to prevent a collapse from recurring. 
3. Both the right and the left feed off of the debate on a public healthcareinsurance option for political fodder at the expense of thoughtful reform.  “Other decisions will matter more in determining whether reform achieves its big goals for access, quality and cost control.” 
4. According to the Boston Globe’s Ellen Goodman, our current system of healthcare breeds a culture in which doctors focus more on revenue than patient care. As a result, healthcare suffers from high costs and low quality.   
5. An International Crisis Group report signalsthe importance of confronting North Korea’s chemical and biological weapon capabilities as well as its nuclear development. 
6. Tiger Woods is a loose cannon! Wild drives, thick rough, and heavy rain at the US Open: will Tiger defend his title?

Some reads for today...

1. Karl Rove argues that Republicans can defeat the Democrats’ health care proposals by appealing to fiscal conservatives with their own reform ideas.
2. Gene Lyons urges President Obama to forget about bipartisan consensus and push health care reform through despite Republican protests. 
3. Did Obama’s financial regulatory overhaul go far enough?  An opinion piece in “The Economist” says that while there is a lot to like about the new legislation, Obama may have missed an opportunity to implement bolder reforms. 
4. John Kerry argues that critics of President Obama’s Iran policy are reacting emotionally without recognizing the realities of Iranian politics.
5. Ranj Alaaldin assesses how a Mousavi presidency  might change Iranian foreign policy. 
6. Has the GOP given away its edge on national security issues by voting against the most recent war funding bill?
7. PETA calls on Obama to be more humane to insects.
8. The US debt may be growing, but Italian authorities still weren’t fooled by two Japanese travelers trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of forged US Treasury bonds.

Some reads for today...

1. Dan Senor and Christian Whiton list five ways Obama can promote freedom in Iran without “imposing democracy.”  
2. Thomas Friedman wonders if Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter are becoming  “virtual mosques”  galvanizing and mobilizing moderate Islamic forces.  
3. Members of the Iranian national soccer team  wore green arm bands during their game against South Korea as a show of support for reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.  
4. Martin Feldstein argues that Obama’s cap and trade plan will be the equivalent of a massive tax increase on middle class families that further expands the federal government.  
5. Amy Walter writes that Democrats may be punished in the 2010 midterm elections  if the economy doesn’t rebound.

Some reads for today...

1. Jacob Weisberg argues that being a true friend to Israel means pressuring Netanyahu. 
2. Obama’s health plan is worse than the status quo, says Douglas O’Brien.
3. Bret Stephens claims that future presidents may have to apologize to Iranians for President Obama’s tepid support of true democracy in Iran.  Pat Buchanan disagrees, saying that Obama's policy is working and we should wait for the dust to settle in Iran.
4. Robert Kaplan warns that the US should be careful what it wishes for in North Korea and Iran, as the fall of either regime could result in a host of new problems. 
5. Peter Orszag, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, argues that health care reform is essential to balancing the federal budget. 
6. Health reform could cost over $1 trillion while still leaving millions uninsured according to the Congressional Budget Office.