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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 29, 2009
/ 5 Iyar 5769
Too many priorities clutter Obama's 100 days
By
E. Thomas McClanahan
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
President Barack Obama's "first 100 days" draws to a close Wednesday - a traditional moment for evaluating a new administration.
My take: This is a president who wants to accomplish great things, but he also wants to please everyone. As a result, he finds it tough to set priorities.
We're mired in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and Obama's primary job should be fixing the economy. But he has shown no intention of putting off his expansive agenda. He's forging ahead with his plans. He wants to do everything at once: revamp the health industry, revolutionize the energy economy, reform the schools.
And he continues to peddle the rhetorical non sequitur that economic recovery absolutely depends on enactment of his entire program - a nonsensical conclusion disputed even by the editorial page of The Washington Post.
On foreign policy, his moves have been more in line with the centrist persona he displayed during his campaign.
In his recent trips abroad, he has shown a grating tendency to apologize for the perceived shortcomings of his own country. But many of his substantive decisions have been reassuring.
He campaigned on a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, but as president he approved a plan not much different from that negotiated by the Bush administration. He approved a hefty new deployment of troops to Afghanistan - something that was needed. He authorized the use of deadly force against the pirates holding an American freighter captain.
Domestically, Obama seeks to be a transformative president, but at the same time he wants to maintain his centrist pose.
"I strongly believe in a free market system," he said during the recent G-20 confab in London.
Yet his administration has intervened in the economy in ways previously unheard of. His massive stimulus package was the largest spending bill in U.S. history. His Treasury Department has moved ever closer to nationalizing the nation's banks.
Obama has said his administration has "no interest or intention in running GM." Yet he has fired General Motors' CEO, sacked half the board, authorized federal backing for the company's warranties and presumed to advise its executives on what cars to build.
Obama has portrayed himself as a budget-cutter and says he wants to move the country from "an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest."
Yet the budget he presented calls for a tripling of the national debt and a decade of trillion-dollar deficits.
Obama wants to have it both ways - an impulse that was undoubtedly behind his mishandling of the controversy raised by his release of Bush-era memos on interrogation methods.
First, he told CIA employees that no one would be prosecuted for using the "enhanced" interrogation techniques.
But then, pressured by the left wing of his party, he mused about the need for a "truth commission" to investigate Bush policies, and opened the door to prosecution of Bush-era Justice Department lawyers.
Instantly, Republicans upped the ante. They demanded release of other documents showing the interrogation techniques yielded valuable intelligence. They asked the CIA to release detailed accounts of briefings given to members of Congress on the interrogation methods.
That put House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the bull's-eye. She was privy to the briefings. What did she know and when did she know it? Did she object to the use of waterboarding? Pelosi says she recalls hearing something about waterboarding but can't say whether she was told the technique would be used.
Hogwash, says former CIA Director Porter Goss. He says the briefers were clear on what the techniques involved. Pelosi, he says, mainly expressed worries about whether the CIA was doing enough to protect the country.
By Thursday, the White House was backing away from the idea of a "truth commission." But Obama's erratic zigzagging had triggered a free-for-all that has yet to run its course.
It's not likely this will be the last time this president opens up a Pandora's box because of his failure to understand that sometimes you simply can't please everyone.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
E. Thomas McClanahan is a member of the Kansas City Star editorial board. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2009, The Kansas City Star. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
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