Roundup: Media's Take

January 24, 2005

Why ARE We So Worried About Iran?

Gwynne Dyer in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1-23-05):Seymour Hersh's article in last week's New Yorker about American forces carrying out reconnaissance missions in Iran to locate hidden Iranian nuclear facilities, presumably in order to be able to destroy them all in a surprise attack, may be "riddled with errors," as the White House promptly alleged. It may be entirely true. And either way, it may have been deliberately leaked by the Bush admini

January 24, 2005

Politics: Nowadays It's All About Making the Right Political Gestures

Christopher Caldwell, in the NYT Magazine (1-23-05):The world's governments, churches and even terrorist-affiliated groups have thrown themselves into the tsunami relief effort. You would expect that passing judgment about which kinds of aid and which modes of delivery work best would be a complicated matter. But you would be wrong. In Europe, at least, the public has separated the heroes from the scoundrels with a simple yardstick -- lost vacation ti

January 24, 2005

The Historians Who Influenced the Writing of Bush's 2nd Inaugural

Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei, in the Washington Post (1-22-05):... The planning of Bush's second inaugural address began a few days after the Nov. 2 election with the president telling advisers he wanted a speech about "freedom" and "liberty." That led to the broadly ambitious speech that has ignited a vigorous debate. The process included consultation with a number of outside experts, Kristol among them. One meeting, arranged by Peter Wehner

January 23, 2005

Dana Milbank: Family Ties Playing A Big Role On the Hill

Dana Milbank, in the Wash Post (1-23-05):It came as little surprise last week when Doris Matsui announced, four days after her husband's funeral, that she would run for his seat in Congress. If the widow is successful in succeeding her late husband, Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif.), she will join a long list of lawmakers to follo

January 22, 2005

Vicky A. Checter: Alexander's Road In Iraq Parallels U.S.

Vicky A. Checter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/12/05 The commander of the Iraq invasion threw a bucket of cold water on America's hopes for a short war. Gen. Tommy R. Franks recently predicted,"We will be engaged with our military in Iraq for perhaps, 3, 5, perhaps 10 years." But Franks may be more optimistic than history allows. After all, this isn't the first time a Western country waged a pre-emptive strike against Iraq. In 322 B.C., Iraq and its surrou

January 22, 2005

Harold Meyerson: Bush and LBJ Compared (Yes, They're Both Texans, But ...)

Harold Meyerson, The Washington Post, 1/19/05 Forty years ago tomorrow, Lyndon Johnson took the presidential oath on the steps of the Capitol, and American -- and inaugural -- politics have not been the same since. Before Johnson became president, the United States had not had a president from the South since Zachary Taylor died in office in the summer of 1850. In the 40 years since Johnson's landslide victory, southerners have been president for 24 years -- at

January 22, 2005

Compared with Other Presidents, Bush Has Snubbed His Washington D.C. Neighbors

Marc Fisher, The Washington Post, 1/20/05 This president's Washington is an insular, institutional place, a city of cordoned-off safe zones and Jersey-barriered encampments. It's a place where even a bit of outdoor fun involves a trip to a secluded reserve, far from any ordinary person. It's a city where dinner out means mediocre meals in vast banquet halls, where even dinner with friends is a hurried, early evening affair. No wonder George W. Bush hates Washing

January 22, 2005

David Broder: How Bush Hopes to Avoid Fate of Past Presidents' Second Terms

David S. Broder, The Washington Post, 1/20/05 As he takes the oath of office for the second time today, President George W. Bush will confront major challenges, including an unfinished war in Iraq and a looming budget deficit and determined political opposition at home. And he also must overcome what some historians refer to as the"second-term curse" -- the pattern of meager progress and increasing frustration for almost every reelected president in modern times.

January 22, 2005

Myron H. Thompson: Do You Know Who Draco Was? Do You Know Why You Should Care?

Myron H. Thompson, in the NYT (1-21-05)[Myron H. Thompson is a federal district court judge.]MORE than 2,500 years ago, the Athenian leader Draco codified the laws of his city-state, which was then suffering from political and social unrest. According to Plutarch,"Death was appointed for almost all offenses, insomuch that those that were convicted of idleness were to die, and those who stol

January 22, 2005

Orlando Patterson: Because Freedom Has Many Meanings, So Does Bush's Inaugural

Orlando Patterson, in the NYT (1-22-05):SINCE 9/11, President Bush and his advisers have engaged in a series of arguments concerning the relation between freedom, tyranny and terrorism. The president's inaugural paean to freedom was the culmination of these arguments. The stratagem began immediately after 9/11 with the president's claims that the terrorist attacks were a deliberate assau

January 22, 2005

Jeff Madrick: Capitalism and Government Go Hand in Hand

Jeff Madrick, in the NYT (1-20-05):What is the purpose of government in the American economy? To many people these days, it is axiomatic that less government is invariably better for the economy and the nation. In this way, tax cut after tax cut is justified despite a growing federal budget deficit. Such thinking also lies behind the efforts to privatize Social Security. But it is hard to square this

January 21, 2005

Are Russia's Revoluntionaries Finally Tamed?

Dmitry Shlapentokh, The Straits Times (Singapore), 1/17/05 In January 1905, exactly 100 years ago, a crowd of workers approached the Winter Palace, the residence of the Tsar in St Petersburg. They petitioned the 'Little Father' to improve their lot. But they were repulsed by the fire of the soldiers, and hundreds were killed or wounded. There was public shock from the massacre in both Russia and the West. The New York Times devoted an entire issue to the tragedy.

January 21, 2005

Bush's Inauguration: 2001 and 2005

Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe, 1/20/05 When George W. Bush took the oath of office four years ago, it was as a moderate Republican anxious to get beyond the unpleasantness of Florida and reclaim his reputation for easygoing bipartisanship. His agenda was hardly revolutionary: cutting taxes and improving public education at home, steering clear of nation-building abroad. He came across as easygoing, incurious, not given to hard thought or hard work - and like his father, unenc

January 21, 2005

Inaugural Meals And The National Mood

Ken Ringle, The Washington Post, 1/19/05 [Washington Post researcher Bobbye Pratt and researcher Jonnie L. Jacobs-Percer contributed to this report.] The president wanted chicken à la king. It was not to be. The year was 1944, in the midst of World War II rationing, and Franklin D. Roosevelt requested the creamy chicken dish for his final inaugural luncheon. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt, among whose many gifts a discriminating palate was not

January 21, 2005

Japan's Status, 60 Years After WW II

Shinji Fukukawa, The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo), 1/19/05 The Tokyo Colloquium and the Yomiuri International Economic Society (YIES) will hold a series of forums this year, the Yomiuri International Forum 2005, under the theme"The 60 years after World War II and beyond--A strategy for the nation's survival." The first forum will be held next month to explore Japan's options for the future. This is the first installment of a series of contributions from members of the forum's planni

January 21, 2005

Second Term Establishes Bush Dynasty, Eases Sting Of 1992 Loss

John F. Harris, The Washington Post, 1/17/05 Amid the celebration and crowds of Inauguration Day came a surprisingly intimate moment between father and son. As John F. Kennedy's parade passed the reviewing stand where Joseph P. Kennedy was watching, the new president looked up and tipped his hat -- a gesture of affection and gratitude to the patriarch who had dreamed for years of putting a son in the White House. Forty-four years later, as President Bush prepare

January 21, 2005

MLK's Impact Shapes Political Debates In 21st Century

Jason B. Johnson, The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/17/05 More than three decades after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights icon who emerged in the 1960s remains a central figure in some of the nation's most controversial issues today -- same-sex marriage, abortion and the war in Iraq. As the country celebrates King this holiday weekend, those seeking to sway the political opinions of a land divided into red and blue states are using his na

January 21, 2005

Commercial Having Fun With Churchill Criticized And Banned

Chris Hastings, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON), 1/16/05 A television commercial which features a joke about Winston Churchill downloading"saucy" images of General Montgomery, the Second World War commander, has been banned by an advertising standards watchdog. The Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Centre has ruled that the advert, which stars the comedian Harry Enfield, is grossly offensive to the public and the wartime leader's surviving family. In the 30-second film

January 21, 2005

Social Security Bashing: An Historical Perspective

Daniel Gross, The New York Times, 1/16/05 President Bush claimed last week that the Social Security system would be ''flat bust, bankrupt'' in 40 years ''unless the United States Congress has got the willingness to act now.'' Given that professional economic forecasters are seldom correct when they predict what will happen in the next four quarters, it is difficult to accept 40-year estimates made by an amateur forecaster, even if he is the president. From its v

January 21, 2005

Wartime Inaugurations Are All About Tone

John Tierney, The New York Times, 1/16/05 Inaugurations are always balancing acts: part coronation, part celebration of democracy, part touchdown dance in the end zone. But they become even trickier during times of war, particularly when television images of dancers in black tie can be instantly juxtaposed with soldiers in body armor. President Bush, like most of his wartime predecessors, is not halting the inaugural partying, but this year's planners are strivin