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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
August 28, 2009
8 Elul 5769
Obama's Bummer of a Summer
By
Suzanne Fields
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
This is everybody's bummer of a season, particularly these rough
weeks for Barack Obama. You could call this a summer of discontent, but
there's nothing poetic about it. The president warns that the economy will
only get considerably worse before it gets better.
"The long-term deficit outlook remains daunting," the White
House said Tuesday. Unemployment is expected to surpass 10 percent soon, the
deficit to swell to $1.5 trillion, and the gross domestic product to shrink
by 2.8 percent this year. We may get an early frost, too.
The stimulus was supposed to make everybody feel a lot better by
now. The deficit would be smaller, Wall Street greed would be tamed, and
General Motors would be selling cars again without federal subsidies. The
health care debate would be over, with legislation signed. But senior
Democrats are saying now there will be no health care scheme in place before
Christmas, if then, and nobody knows what it would look like, anyway.
The good news is that the U.S.A. is still the Old Reliable,
rebounding with poise, grace and growing confidence, just as it always does.
That's because we're not the nation Obama and his friends on the left
imagine we are, permanently susceptible to the blandishments of big talk and
the music of seductive pipers, willing to be remade in the image of the Old
and Third Worlds. America is unique "the last best hope of civilization,"
as Abraham Lincoln put it and this is the idea a community organizer and
his friends from the '60s just can't get their minds around.
In getting itself turned right side up again, the public is
beginning to see the Obama phenomenon for what it was, a vaporous display of
fluffy clouds, soft and inviting, streaked with a nifty rainbow. He cleverly
put together a coalition of '60s radicals, aging but still dreaming of a
socialist paradise, antiwar dreamers who think apologies will subdue the
violence of those who hate us, white liberals who imagined that electing a
black president would relieve them of guilt for things they both did and
didn't do, and black voters understandably eager to finally vote for one of
their own (just as white Southerners eagerly took a chance with Jimmy
Carter).
Obama's genius is his ability to read an electorate weary of
war, weary of a world that seemed not to like us very much and weary of
presidents named Bush. He inherited the possibilities in a perfect storm.
Sometimes the cultural instincts of Middle America seem to be
missing in Obama; he's the son, after all, of a Kenyan father and an
American mother who spent her adult life trying to get away from America.
It's impossible to imagine Barack Obama hitting all the notes (or knowing
all the words) in a hymn to "morning in America." But he understood that if
he intended to remake America in a way that few Americans could tolerate he
had better do it before the fat lady sings. He knew that the magic of the
campaign of '08 would eventually flee.
What he didn't expect was how quickly the magic would flee, how
quickly the public would awaken and how fiercely the awakening public would
answer the golden con. The public saw that Obama's idea of the overhaul of
health care was the first step in overhauling everything, and if the public
was surprised, the president was equally surprised by the "loud voices" of
the town halls.
Suddenly railing at the sins and shortcomings of George W. Bush,
both real and imagined, is not enough. The heartaches and headaches of the
presidency are his now, and he is clearly astonished that the unique
responsibilities of a president can't be eased by spending a few minutes
with an adoring press, making a speech or dispensing an apology to a distant
enemy.
The "loud voices" that bedevil the dreams of the president have
served notice, as Fouad Ajami, an international studies professor at Johns
Hopkins University, writes in The Wall Street Journal, "that Mr. Obama's
charismatic moment has passed. Once again, the belief in that American
exception that set this nation apart from other lands is re-emerging."
That's very good news for the rest of us, but it's enough to
ruin a day at the beach as a summer of discontent fades into the suspicions
of September. Obama becomes less a man for all seasons than a man who must
be watched closely when autumn leaves begin to fall.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Suzanne Fields' column by clicking here.
Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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