Featured Articles — May 2, 2009

March 2, 2009 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Featured Articles 

Interesting Takes From Home And Abroad:

Paul Harvey, Good Night By Christopher Orlet, The American Spectator
I don’t know about the rest of the nation, but here in Central time we could get Paul Harvey’s News and Comment in the morning and again at noon, most likely on some crackly AM country music station. If I were out of town or on the road, I would surf the AM dial hoping to find a hint of that unmistakable voice: The Voice. Like a true news junkie, I needed my Paul Harvey fix.

The Re-Redistributor By E.J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post
Our political system adjusts badly when the familiar landmarks erected during controversies of the past are swept away and prepackaged arguments become obsolete.

A Republican Road to Economic Recovery By Paul Ryan, The Wall Street Journal
Inheriting countless challenges, Congress and the Obama administration have moved quickly on many fronts to implement their economic agenda. After two months of drastic interventions, has hope replaced fear, and confidence pushed aside uncertainty?

What’s stopping Tim Geithner? By Noam Scheiber, The New Republic
In June 2007, Tim Geithner, then the president of the New York Fed, gave a speech about the financial crisis he’d helped defuse as a Clinton Treasury official in the late 1990s. This particular crisis had originated in Asia rather than the United States, and it was triggered by international capital flows rather than a real-estate bust. But, in several important respects, it resembled the crisis we face today, which is why Geithner’s thoughts on resolving it are so interesting.

Taking The Job By Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker
A politician ascending to the pinnacle of American power receives custody of the Presidency and its powers on January 20th, but he becomes President over time, through a testing procession of civic rituals and occurrences planned and unplanned: his announcement of candidacy; his acquisition and acceptance of his party’s nomination; his campaign debate appearances; his electoral mandate; his Cabinet and staff choices; his Inaugural; his first full-scale news conference; his first trip overseas on Air Force One; his first crisis in office.

FDR’s Sweater Fable By George Will, Newsweek
On April 12, 1933, the 40th day of his presidency, Franklin Roosevelt met with reporters and recounted to them “a story that was told to me the other day.” The story of what FDR called “a certain little sweater factory in a little town”—”I won’t even give you the location of it”—helps to explain why the Depression lingered through the 1930s, and why it is troubling to see the Obama administration auditioning for the role of the New Deal Redux.

Health Care Rationing Ahead By Sally Pipes, New York Post
President Obama’s new budget dedicates $634 bil lion over the next 10 years to what he calls health reform. He promises – or perhaps threatens – that this vast sum will be a down payment for universal coverage, which could require more than $1 trillion.

Iran Clenches Its Fist By John Bolton, The Wall Street Journal
As Iran prepares to fire up its Bushehr nuclear reactor — and as the International Atomic Energy Agency governing board meets this week, again confronted with further progress by Tehran’s nuclear program — it is worth asking how the Obama administration is responding.

A Stimulus Plan for Mexican Gangsters By Mary Anastasia O’Grady, The Wall Street Journal
Just when you thought the effects of U.S. drug policy couldn’t get more pernicious, guess what? That’s where we’re headed. Mexico’s young democracy is already paying a high price for the lethal combination of prohibition and strong gringo demand for mind-altering substances.

For Obama, Helping Gaza Is Harder Than It Looks By Massimo Calabresi, Time
President Barack Obama has been busy on foreign policy in recent weeks, chairing meetings with his national security principals, plotting his approach to Iraq, Iran and North Korea, and consulting at weekly private sessions with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For the most part, in these meetings, he’s composed and restrained.

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