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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 15, 2010 / 7 Mar-Cheshvan, 5771
Obama's Conscience
By
Mona Charen
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Two great questions ricochet around the capital in the countdown to the midterms. The first: Does Barack Obama plan to seek re-election? A remarkable number of top advisers have left the administration. Rank-and-file Democrats are listless. And the economic news is, well, everyone knows about that. President Obama is rumored to be dissatisfied, grumpy, and isolated. He doesn't even enjoy Camp David.
The second question is: Will he, can he, "pull a Clinton" after a presumed electoral defeat and tack to the center?
The answer to the first question may have come from Vice President Joe Biden, who was seeking to quash yet a third rumor making the rounds — that he and Hillary Clinton would switch jobs in 2012. Biden blurted to London's Telegraph newspaper that Obama had asked Biden to run again as vice president in 2012. Biden, reports Biden, agreed.
It may be that the verbally incontinent vice president is freelancing again, but it's more likely that this is the president's indirect way of quieting speculation that he dislikes his job and plans to retire after one term.
The answer to the Clinton question (Bill, not Hillary) is less obvious. In an interview with The New York Times Magazine, an aide allowed as how the president has spent "a lot of time talking about Obama 2.0," but the content of the new operating system, if there is one, does not appear to be noticeably different from Obama 1.0.
Bill Clinton was able to switch gears and adjust his ideological GPS after the 1994 electoral upheaval because, above all, he believed in winning. Policy preferences would be pared back, even abandoned, in the name of victory.
Obama likes to win, too, of course. But he is so ideological, so deeply marinated in leftism (he picked up the false accusation about the Chamber of Commerce, for example, from a left-wing website), that asking him to compromise with Republicans may well cause a system crash. Though he now acknowledges that "there's no such thing as shovel-ready projects," he continues to see his presidency in such empyrean terms (and his opponents as so lacking in good faith) that compromise seems remote.
The president's peeves are a measure of his distance from the people who will determine his fate — voters. The president pays lip service to the electorate's fear and indignation about the nation's mushrooming debt and the aggrandizement of Washington's power. He looked too much like "the same old tax-and-spend liberal Democrat" he admitted to The New York Times. But he doesn't address that concern in any substantive way. Dismay over the nature and scope of the health care behemoth he dismisses casually as the bleating of "special interests."
On the other hand, it seems really to stick in his craw that liberal Democrats are so ungrateful as to criticize him. "Democrats just congenitally tend to see the glass as half-empty," the president complained at a Democratic fundraiser in September. "If we get an historic health care bill passed — oh, well, the public option wasn't there. If you get the financial reform bill passed — then, well, I don't know about this particular derivatives rule, I'm not sure that I'm satisfied with that. And, gosh, we haven't yet brought about world peace. I thought that was going to happen quicker." Two weeks later, Obama repeated the plaint, telling Democrats ""It took time to free the slaves. It took time for women to get the vote. It took time for workers to get the right to organize."
Having raised expectations to Olympian heights, Obama now pouts when his supporters are (inevitably) disappointed. But it's more than irritation — their dissatisfaction seems to eat away at him. During the protracted policy review on Afghanistan, we learn from Bob Woodward's "Obama's Wars," the president's chief concern was not tactics, strategy, or victory. His preoccupation was "not losing the whole Democratic Party."
The quality of the president's annoyance at his base — they just don't appreciate that making history takes a little time and patience — doesn't suggest a man ready to prune his ideological ambitions. The left's critique seems always to be on his mind because that's where his conscience is. When a New York Times reporter complimented the new decor in the Oval Office, the president snapped, "I know Arianna doesn't like it. But I like taupe." Arianna Huffington's disparagement, even on so trivial a matter, was on his mind.
Such a mind is not supple enough for moderation.
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Mona Charen Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
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