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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
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
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
April 29, 2011
/ 25 Nissan, 5771
Enough Drama Already --- the Country's Getting Sick of It
By
Paul Greenberg
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It's no secret that the messianic hopes Barack Obama once inspired have steadily given way to disillusion, and an ever-deepening sense of unease about the direction the country is heading.
The president's critics are tempted to say they told us so -- and they give in to that temptation all too often. Instead of rallying around a serious alternative, which may explain why no such candidate has yet to emerge from the pack.
As for the president's supporters, they sound more defensive than proud. It's a familiar sound -- that of a presidency losing steam, and maybe hope.
You don't hear much about Hope out of the White House these days, or for that matter Change and Audacity, either. Those old words now tend to be used only ironically where this administration is concerned. They used to be a slogan, remember? Now they've become a wry judgment on this president's failure to deliver on the hopes he once raised.
And it was all going to be so simple, too. What heady days those were. But now it's as if the country had returned to sobriety after an intoxicating fling with a media star. You can feel the letdown. The polls reflect it, too, for what they're worth, which is not much. We can be a fickle people, our mood changing in an instant. Besides, a president who was a slave to the polls wouldn't be much of a president. A great campaigner, maybe, but not much of a president.
The results of last year's midterm elections were scarcely a vote of confidence in the president's party, or his leadership. And nothing much seems to have changed since. If there is a single word to describe the spirit of this administration just now, it is entropy. The new has worn off, and revealed ... nobody is quite sure.
More and more, there doesn't seem to be any there there. What, besides his own re-election, does the man stand for? It's not easy to say, and it is this lack of definition that has come to define him. Which is not a good sign in a candidate who would lead. That is, if he's ever been interested in leading -- as opposed to moderating a national conversation and group therapy session.
Barack Obama may or may not have retained his personal popularity, but it's hard to escape the impression that his presidency is winding down -- at home and abroad. The feeling grows that it's time for a change from the change he ushered in, or was going to.
In the battle over the budget, the president (who's more of a presidential candidate these days) can be counted on to play the Class War card sooner and/or later. But even at his most strident, maybe especially at his most strident, he comes across as ineffectual. You can almost hear the steam going out of his presidency.
Yet there are still some folks out there he manages to drive crazy, and, strangely enough, they may represent his best chance for re-election. For if the country isn't happy with Mr. Obama, it's not about to embrace the kind of nutcases who've come out of the woodwork to oppose him -- the mixed assortment of birthers, truthers and other such who view him not as a failed president but as some kind of demonic plant. Those folks are scary.
The other day I spotted a bumper so covered with stickers you could barely see the chrome underneath. Together, they expressed enough suspect sentiments to sink any presidential candidate who would embrace them. For example:
Impeach the Muslim
Global Warming Is a Hoax
Obama Lied/ America Died
Put all those together and you've got Glenn Beck on one of his wilder forays into conspiracy theory -- the kind of thing once confined to late-night radio but now more and more mainstream. You'd think the John Birch Society had been reborn.
Recall all the virulence directed at the last president, aim it in the opposite political direction, and you've got the flavor of the thing. It's quite a show, but it's not much of a campaign strategy. Nuttism seldom is.
No matter what unease this president inspires, it is nothing compared to the distaste this kind of wild-eyed sloganeering does. Hysteria is not an appealing quality. Not in a practical-minded country always tending toward consensus. We may love to gossip, but most of us aren't about to vote the way we talk in the barber shop or beauty salon, where it's understood that anything said is 25 percent off.
As the president launches his re-election campaign on a grand scale, at least financially, Republican presidential hopefuls compete to see which one can sound more like Ronald Reagan as they try to stir up their party's base.
But as venerated as the Gipper was, and deserves to be, this may be a time when the country is looking for a different kind of presidential candidate. By now Americans may yearn not for a Reagan but an Eisenhower, someone who might not be glamorous, but who can be trusted. A candidate who has principles but isn't angry about them. A Mitt Romney rather than a Donald Trump. Think of how attractive a Romney-Petraeus ticket might be -- if the alternative were Obama and (Lord help us) Biden again.
Americans may have grown more than a tad sick of ideology by now. Having overdosed on the politics of celebrity and glamor, we might happily settle for just some competence, clarity, trust and good will. And constancy of purpose. Whoever can provide those qualities could look mighty good in 2012. They may not be dramatic qualities, but the American electorate has had more than enough drama of late.
Paul Greenberg Archives
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