The View From Here

Some reads for this morning...

1. Paul Begala writes that the left seems to "prefer a glorious defeat to an incremental victory" and argues for passage of current health reform proposals as an important, albeit imperfect, step in the right direction
2. David Broder recalls the outraged protesters LBJ faced at the Adolphus Hotel before the 1960 presidential election, and wonders if history might be repeating itself today with the GOP suffering blowback from overly aggressive demonstrations.
3. Karl Rove diagnoses the Obama team as suffering from "Extended Campaign Syndrome."
4. Ezra Klein asks Nancy- Ann Deparle, the director of the White House Office on Health Reform, if it's 1994 again.
5. House Minority Leader John Boehner responds to Obama's town hall meeting and calls the current health care bill "hopelessly flawed."

Best of the web...

1. Have the Democrats made a Faustian bargain with the pharmaceutical lobby to get a health care bill passed?
2. As bipartisan compromise on health care reform becomes increasingly difficult, many Republicans admit that they miss Ted Kennedy.
3. Richard Holbrooke, American envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan,  discusses the future of of the region with the Center for American Progress.  Holbrooke raised the possibility of a disputed outcome to the coming presidential election in Afghanistan, and when asked about defining success in the region Holbrooke replied, "We'll know it when we see it."
4. Boston Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis charges the mound after being beaned by Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello.  Brings to mind this ESPN video of the 10 greatest baseball fights.

Some reads for today...

1. Ten Democratic senators speak out against cap and trade and in favor of a carbon tax: We must not engage in a self-defeating effort that displaces greenhouse gas emissions rather than reducing them and displaces US jobs rather than bolstering them."
2. Do the Democrats have a senior problem? Politico reports that the strongest opposition to health care reform is coming from older Americans.
3. Paul Maslin says that reports of Obama's diminished popularity are greatly exaggerrated.
4. President Obama calls it "a great day for America" as the White House hosts a reception to celebrate Sonia Sotomayor joining the Supreme Court. 
5. Andres Martinez analyzes the social and political implications of today's US-Mexico World Cup qualifying match.

 

Best of the web...

1. Marc Ambinder writes that conservatives are missing a political opening by making the same mistake the left made during the Bush years - getting carried away and losing control of their message.
2. Ezra Klein says that the tone of the current health care debate reveals how little Americans trust their government.
3. The new DNC television ad, titled "Something In It For All of Us," appeals to insured voters by promising greater regulation of insurance companies.   Meanwhile, Katie Connolly questions the effectiveness of this tactic, and suggests that Obama switch from playing offense against the insurance companies to playing defense for a specific plan.
4. Remembering Eunice Kennedy Shriver's impact and her inspirational Special Olympic speeches.

 

Some things I have my eye on this morning...

1. Eugene Robinson says that the hysteria about health care is the result of conflating the two issues of health care reform - universal access and cost control.  Robinson argues that universal access is a moral obligation that must be addressed separately from fiscal concerns.
2. Bob Herbert takes a look at the numbers behind the recent unemployment data and concludes that America's economic problems are far from over.
3. The New York Times remembers Eunice Kennedy Shriver: "When the full judgment of the Kennedy legacy is made...the changes wrought by Eunice Shriver may well be seen as the most consequential."
4. Princeton economist Alan Blinder defends the economic stimulus plan, saying the president must "stay the course."
5. Kimberly Kagan declares that the Taliban is winning in Afghanistan and examines 5 flaws in US strategy in the region.

Best of the web...

1. Sen. Mel Martinez (R) resigned today, which, at least in theory, gives Gov. Charlie Crist the opportunity to appoint himself to the vacant Senate seat.
2. How can we measure success in Afghanistan?  Peter Feaver says that enemy body counts and American casualty rates arent' reliable indicators.  Is the "rat rate" a more useful metric?
3. Rahm Emanuel cracks the whip on liberal groups attacking Blue Dog Democrats.   But health care reform advocates may not back down.
4. The lighter side of Hillary Clinton's trip to Kenya - dancing included.

A few morning reads...

1. Amid speculation that the unemployment rate would continue to climb, the Labor Department announces a drop in unemployment, from 9.6 to 9.4 percent.
2. Much as candidate Obama fought to find his voice in the presidential campaign, President Obama needs a better hold on his health care message.  Perhaps the August recess is just what Obama and the Democrats need to pitch their proposals to Americans.
3. General Wald reminds us that military action against Iran is a "technically feasible and credible option" in today's Wall Street Journal.
4. Is the Senate Finance Committee's longstanding mystique of bipartisanship rattled?  Ron Brownstein writes in the National Journal.
5. August vacation finally hits Washington DC; Obama and Co. take a much-needed rest.

Best of the web...

1. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is officially confirmed by the Senate, 68-31.
2. Matt Yglesias argues that health care reform isn't moving slowly because it's unpopular, it's unpopular because it's moving slowly.
3. Harry Reid brings out actual Astroturf to discredit the protesters at local townhall meetings, and calls the GOP a "party run by a talk show host."
4. Hillary Clinton fields an offer from a man looking to marry into the Clinton family.  Like a true diplomat, Hillary didn't take any options off the table.
5. The first place Dodgers get a jolt of motivation, exchanging bean balls with the Brewers. 

 

Some reads this morning...

1. A new poll finds President Obama's approval at 50 percent.
2. Karl Rove says Obama is off the track on heatlh reform, but the Senate Finance Committee seems poised to move toward a legislative consensus.
3. Economist Nouriel Roubini profiles some of the economies which have best weathered the global recession.
4. In the wake of the release of two American journalists from North Korea, Politico suggests its time to rethink North Korea policy.
5. Former Ambassador to the Soviet Union Stephen Sestanovich tells us what Biden should have said about Russia and how the US can advance its interests with Russia's neighbors.
6. You can learn a lot about a man, Barack Obama for example, by the way he plays golf.

Some reads for today...

1. Sen. Kent Conrad pushes his co-op plan as an alternative to the public option
2. Some have called the Blue Dog Democrats moderates.  Others have called them obstructionists.  Thomas Frank calls them political entrepreneurs and corporate shills.
3. Evan Ramstad calls Clinton's visit a "boon for Kim Jong Il" that strengthened the dictator's hold on North Korea. The LA Times rejects this logic, arguing that Clinton's trip was a far greater success for the US than for North Korea.
4. Thomas Friedman finds reason to hope for a new trend in the Arab world, "good, accountable government."