I don't know if this has been diaried here, but Fareed Zakaria has a very good article in Newsweek about Obama's view of the world and how/why he's not naive about foreign policy, but instead is a realist. I, for one, am simply thrilled that someone finally took the whole "Obama is naive on foreign policy" myth and debunked it. Of course, this article has probably been and will probably continue to be largely ignored by the corporate media hacks that some of us (or you) watch/listen do daily. I thought that as our focus around here has been on the world view, people here would appreciate it.
Newsweek's editorial policy of late has been to decide that it wants to be "centrist" for this election, and that to be "centrist" is to give bigoted anti-homosexual banter some editorial lovin'.
The point I want to make is, this is not just a one-off, it's becoming a pattern.
Here's a sample of just how homophobic/transphobic this article is...
We are in a serious recession and the country seems to be falling apart.
Every day the economic situation turns gloomier; the clouds thicken on the horizon.
The polls show that we are stuck in neutral at best, and maybe worse.
A Newsweek poll 2 weeks,ago showed us up by 15 and now the lead is down to 3. Rasmussen has a virtual tie. Illinois is only + 11. We cannot put too much trust in polls this year (explanation below.)
There are a million rationalizations; the same we heard in 2004 and 2008.
We'll be fine after the convention.It's summer,no one cares.This is fund raising time. I will expound on this garbage reasoning below the fold but for now "IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID."
"The public financing of presidential elections, as it exists today, is broken, and we face opponents who have become masters at gaming this broken system," Obama said, adding that [this wasn't] an "easy decision" for him.
I know many of you are still upset with the news of Congress' capitulation on telecom immunity and FISA (as am I), but here's some good news for Obama in the new Newsweek poll.
This is not meant to be an argument, it is meant to engage discussion on a topic that I have not seen covered.
I have given up hope on most MSM television of being fair and balanced. Lord knows the king of advertising being "fair and balanced" fox is anything but. If I have to sit thru Hannity (And this is coming from a conservative) I would rather drink a glass of bird poop. (Sorry for the early morning visual.
Goddammit... I need to start doing more diaries. The only ones I seem to do these days are attempts at voice-of-reason rebuttals to pieces by front pagers.
I posted a shorter version of this in the comments to the story by BarbinMD, which in turn was picked up from Atrios, but the comment is buried way down and I think bears repeating.
My last entry was on the McCain campaign strategy video and how it was mostly wishful thinking and fantasy. The entire thing was defensive. It seems that no one is giving John McCain a real chance in this election... or that is how the McCain camp must be feeling. All any one seems to do now is downplay expectations for McCain. I think McCain is getting somewhat defensive of this. You can see an excellent summation of John McCain’s defensiveness and delusions in his interview with Newsweek entitled "How to Beat a Rockstar".
This is what is passing for journalism at Newsweek's web site... a whopping "concern troll on steroids" of an article, as their Top Story.
It is penned by Evan Thomas as an 'open letter' to Obama about the 'serious racial issues' he will be facing and includes a reference to DailyKos... and the excellent in-depth analysis of the how Appalachia has a unique history and mindset in racial sensibilities that have been chronicled here. Thomas then proceeds to create a laundry list of smarmy ideas to win over white America, including:
Throwing a grand ole Fourth of July barbecue also sends the right message.
Or, uh, "Be more like McCain? Is that what you're saying, Mr Thomas?
But the real headshaker in this article is the creation, by Newsweek, of this "Racial Resentment Index" and their use of it as a tool to analyze polling data.
Newsweek has published the details of a new poll examining white, anti-Black resentment. According to Newsweek,
...participants were asked to answer questions on a variety of race-related topics including racial preferences, interracial marriage, attitudes toward social welfare and general attitudes toward African-Americans. Respondents were grouped according to their answers on a "Racial Resentment Index".
The article reporting the poll findings goes on to suggest that these poll results may pose problems for Obama in November, but, more importantly, that Obama's candidacy has greatly increased the degree to which Americans now believe the country is 'ready' for an African-American president:
In 2000, only 37 percent of voters thought the country was ready for a black president. Now, 70 percent of voters think a black candidate like Obama could win the White House.
So says this gem of an article by Peter Hart at Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting (FAIR). The Press Corps’ Unshakeable Crush on McCain, whose title I borrowed for this diary, is the most comprehensive and well-researched piece I have found in exposing the media's unconditional swooning over John McCain, Maverick.
You knew it all the time, but you ain't gonna believe some of the stuff you're about to read below the fold.
Like George Will's "Questions for McCain" where Will "just wonders," of course, not necessarily showing that he is an imbecile when it comes to science.
Peripatetic John McCain, the human pinball, continues to carom around the country as his rivals gnaw on each other. Although action, not reflection, is his forte, perhaps he should go to earth somewhere, while the Democrats continue the destruction, and answer some questions
While we might ask what "destruction" means or search for that dictionary definition of "peripatetic" (traveling from place to place), Will's concept of "questions" meriting response is what is of interest. A number of these questions relate to Global Warming, that arena where John McCain seeks to set himself apart from the reality-denying majority of Republicans.
The MSM is starting to move in full force toward the general election. Last week we had TIME declaring Obama the winner.To that end, Newsweek gives us a look at what to look forward to for the next six months.
James Carville, the "ragin' Cajun", issued the following statement in support of his candidate:
"If she gave him one of her cojones, they'd both have two."
This is from the HuffPo's coverage of the Newsweek article that quotes him (sorry for the daisy chain reference). (Uhm, isn't he saying his candidate is chock full of nuts?)
As a feminist and woman, I'm kind of pissed off that the woman candidate who claims she represents progress for women has a surrogate out there reinforcing the "male is strong/female is weak" meme. How the heck does that help women??????
As a white, female Obama supporter, I have been examining some of the reasons that Obama resonates more strongly with me than Hillary. This has led to some thoughts about "generations" within identity groups (e.g. African Americans, women) as they break into new areas (e.g. national politics).
As demonstrated in quotes from each candidate, Hillary considers herself a first generation female national politician but Obama considers himself a second or later generation AA national politician. On a much more prosaic level, I consider myself to be a second generation female software engineer. Obama's second generation outlook is more compelling to me than the fact that Hillary is female.
Follow me below the fold if you are interested in how some of my experiences led me to this position.
