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Opinion: CBSNews.com Dusk On Earth (Mon, 12 May 2008 15:00:02 EDT) The planet has reached a tipping point, writes The Nation. Atmospheric carbon dioxide has spiked to 385 parts per million. If we can roll it to 350, we may still live and thrive. If not, well... Are Republicans Gloomy For Good Reason? (Mon, 12 May 2008 15:30:03 EDT) There's an awful lot of bad news out there for Republicans, argues The Weekly Standard, leaving them with modest '08 goals: Hold the White House, avert sweeping House losses, and keep the Senate defeats to four or fewer. Remembering What Mom Taught Us (Sun, 11 May 2008 15:00:02 EDT) If asked to remember something your mother told you, what's the first thing that would come to your mind? Bob Schieffer tells what he learned from his mom. Andy Rooney: Keep The Stuff Coming! (Sun, 11 May 2008 21:00:02 EDT) People send Andy Rooney all kinds of stuff. And even though he says most of it is junk, he also says keep it coming! The Real Dream Ticket? (Sun, 11 May 2008 16:30:04 EDT) While talk continues about an Obama-Clinton "dream ticket," The Weekly Standard argues that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell would be Obama's best fit. Clinton Has Become A Conservative Populist (Sat, 10 May 2008 12:20:43 EDT) People who thought they knew Hillary Clinton have gazed in astonishment: What has she become? The answer is, a conservative populist, writes the New Republic. A Somber Anniversary (Fri, 09 May 2008 14:30:03 EDT) As Israel turns sixty, the long conflict with the Palestinians, and with the Arab world at large, casts a pall over the celebration, writes The Nation. Will Israel Survive? (Fri, 09 May 2008 14:30:04 EDT) Israel is hampered by an ineffectual prime minister and an American secretary of state who turns a blind eye to Palestinians' willful renunciation of peace and embrace of terror, writes National Review Online. Long Campaign Threatens Bush Legacy (Thu, 08 May 2008 16:00:06 EDT) President Bush is not just a lame duck but an easy target for all three current presidential candidates. If there"s one person in particular suffering the most from this long campaign, it may be the president, says National Review Online. The Clintons Are In Denial (Thu, 08 May 2008 16:00:06 EDT) The Clintons are in denial, writes The Nation. Hillary Clinton needed two wins on Tuesday. She failed utterly. The superdelegates should intervene and send Hillary a message. Out now. The Democratic Race Is Over (Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:03 EDT) The Democratic battle is over, writes The New Republic. But having bested Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama needs to make major changes to defeat John McCain. Policy And Priorities In Politics (Wed, 07 May 2008 15:00:03 EDT) Presidential elections are not referendums on policy papers, writes National Review Online. Rather, policy papers are themselves mere hints, sometimes very poor hints, of where a candidate"s priorities lie. McCain Sings Same Old GOP Song On Justices (Wed, 07 May 2008 10:30:03 EDT) John McCain's recent outline of his judicial philosophy offered his supporters the same tired and empty rhetoric that has marked the mindless partisanship over federal judges, says CBS News chief legal analyst Andrew Cohen. Michelle Obama's Hopeless America (Tue, 06 May 2008 13:00:03 EDT) A speech delivered by Michelle Obama in N.C. treated listeners to a relentlessly negative vision of American life. In Mrs. Obama"s America, everybody"s suffering, writes National Review Online. Clinton's North Carolinian "A-Team" (Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:03 EDT) Averell Smith is one of the Clinton camp's elite ground operatives in North Carolina. Even if Obama wins N.C., it'll likely be by a lot less than originally believed, and Smith will be seen as having delivered yet again, says The New Republic. Why Do Polls Yield Different Results? (Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:04 EDT) If polls that seem to be similar yield different results, you"ve got to find out why, writes CBS News director of surveys Kathy Frankovic. We often don"t look beyond the horserace. But we should. Hillary, Social Conservative (Sort Of) (Mon, 05 May 2008 16:30:02 EDT) Every politician becomes a function of his constituency, writes National Review Online, and Hillary Clinton has morphed into the champion of old white beer-drinking Democrats - a metamorphoses she can't have imagined when leaving Wellesley. No Country For Old Men (Mon, 05 May 2008 17:00:03 EDT) It is obviously true that aging does have a deleterious effect on one's physical and mental functioning, writes . And with John McCain's advanced age an unavoidable issue, his vice presidential pick becomes that much more important. Let Me Be Candid (Or Perhaps Not...) (Sun, 04 May 2008 14:30:02 EDT) Bob Schieffer says, with candor in such short supply in Washington, it's no wonder more and more people seem skeptical of everything the government says and does. Happy Birthday Mike (Sun, 04 May 2008 20:30:05 EDT) 60 Minutes generally doesn't do birthdays, but Andy Rooney makes an exception as his friend and colleague Mike Wallace is turning 90. Wright Reactions Show Consensus (Fri, 02 May 2008 16:30:03 EDT) After Rev. Jeremiah Wright's NAACP speech, a BET message board shows an agreement that the pastor spoke the truth. According to National Review Online, the only debate was whether he should have "held his tongue until after the election." The Overshadowed Issue: Russia (Sat, 03 May 2008 11:30:01 EDT) The Nation reports that neither John McCain, Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton have addressed, or even seem totally aware of, this country's greatest foreign policy concern: Russia. You Be The Judge (Sat, 03 May 2008 11:30:01 EDT) As the Obama Campaign's central talking point becomes the senator's wonderful judgment, The Weekly Standard writes that his supporters are "seeing what they want to see as opposed to what really is." The Big Game In North Carolina (Fri, 02 May 2008 13:00:03 EDT) National Review Online offers a somewhat-forced metaphor to describe the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton contest here: it"s the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill against North Carolina State University. Waking Up From The American Dream (Fri, 02 May 2008 13:00:03 EDT) According to The New Republic, Americans have relied on the appreciation of their homes instead of the return of their labors to support themselves, which has created "an unsustainable and destabilizing economic mirage." Why Question Order Changes Poll Results (Fri, 02 May 2008 13:00:03 EDT) Polling seems easy, writes CBS News director of surveys Kathy Frankovic. But if you don"t also ask those questions in the right order, things can get complicated. McCain's Approach To Health-Care Reform (Thu, 01 May 2008 18:30:03 EDT) John McCain writes in National Review Online that government should restore control to the patients themselves, rather than Obama and Clinton's response to health-care problems which is to promise universal coverage, whatever its cost. Should The Clintons Have Run As Equals? (Thu, 01 May 2008 18:00:03 EDT) What if the Clintons had run as equals - and offered what would effectively be a co-presidency? This would have been a risky strategy to be sure, and without the benefit of hindsight few people might have recommended it, says The New Republic. Iran's Nuclear Program Priority For Rice (Thu, 01 May 2008 21:00:03 EDT) CBS News' Charles Wolfson says Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has her work cut out for her on her diplomatic mission to London and the Middle East. CBS Poll: Obama Leads, But... (Thu, 01 May 2008 09:30:02 EDT) Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton by eight points nationwide, according to a new CBS News/N.Y. Times poll. But fewer Democrats expect Obama to be their nominee than did one month ago, and fewer see him as their best chance of beating John McCain. Wright, Jefferson And The Wrath Of God (Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:30:03 EDT) Rev. Jeremiah Wright can be unsettling, thought-provoking, often right and sometimes wrong. But he is neither anti-American nor unpatriotic, writes The Nation. washingtonpost.com - Op-Ed Columns McCain's Christian Problem (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) John McCain, who as the Republican candidate for president has spent the past two months trying to consolidate right-wing support, has a problem of disputed dimensions with a vital component of the In Burma, a U.N. Promise Not Kept (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) When a parent abuses or neglects a child, government steps in to offer protection. But who steps in when government abuses or neglects its people? Priority: Statehood (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) In the spring of 1948, my father, George Kuttab, and his brother Qostandi fled Musrara, a Jerusalem neighborhood just outside the walled city, after their sister Hoda's husband was killed in front of her and their children. When Dad used to tell us about the Naqba, the catastrophe that befell Palestinians in 1948, he never talked politics or hatred. He would laugh as he told us how his brother secured their home near Damascus Gate. To assure his mother and brother that the house (in what is now Israeli west Jerusalem) would be safe, my uncle joked that he had double-locked the door, turning the heavy metal key twice. He took that key with him to Zarqa, Jordan, expecting to be able to use it again one day. A Talk With President Peres . . . (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) Israeli President Shimon Peres is the last remaining founding father of the Israeli state. Last week he spoke with Newsweek-Washington Post's Lally Weymouth. Excerpts: New Allies In Asia? (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) TOKYO -- China and Japan have been reliable enemies for a thousand years. Their leaders have always been able to count on each other to stir nationalist anger and distract their followers from other problems by trading insults, threats or at times blows. The Price of Delay (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) Three days after last Tuesday's primaries seemingly tilted the Democratic presidential nomination decisively toward Barack Obama, the surprising fact was that almost half the party's senators had not announced a choice between him and Hillary Clinton. Twenty-one of the 49 Democratic senators were publicly silent as the last six primaries approached. Keeping New Mothers Alive (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) "Obscene" is still the word that comes to mind when we think of maternal mortality -- and it has been almost 25 years since we first witnessed death in childbirth. In 1983, as students in one of central Haiti's fetid clinics, we prepared to celebrate a birth. Although we'd just met the young woman about to become a mother, her desperate expression as she began to hemorrhage haunts us still. National statistics could have predicted the outcome: A 1985 survey pegged Haitian maternal mortality at 1,400 deaths per 100,000 live births. By comparison, maternal mortality in the United States last year was 14 deaths per 100,000 live births. Mr. Cool's Intensity (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) Barack Obama called himself an "imperfect messenger" in his victory speech in North Carolina last Tuesday. That was a refreshing touch of humility, but it was also a fact. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is far from perfect. But he has demonstrated the most mysterious and precious gift in politics, which is grace under pressure. Mississippi Harbinger (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) SOUTHAVEN, Miss. -- The 1st Congressional District, the northernmost in the most culturally Southern state, has given the nation William Faulkner and Elvis Presley, and on Tuesday it will have a special congressional election that will test the Republican hope that Barack Obama and his former pastor can be the basis of a Republican strategy to nationalize congressional races to the disadvantage of Democrats. A Senate seat also could be affected by the cascading consequences of Republican Trent Lott's December resignation. washingtonpost.com - Editorials Not an Emergency (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) FIVE YEARS into paying for two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's outrageous that so much of the financing continues to be approved outside the normal budget process, through "emergency" spending bills that must be passed, must be passed in a hurry and therefore must risk ending up as vehicles for other initiatives. Some of these are worthy, but they hardly count as "emergencies" that should be exempt from the ordinary give-and-take of budget negotiations or from the rules that require new mandatory spending programs to be paid for in some way. Car and Driver (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) THE DISMAL April car sales data out of Detroit illustrated an important lesson about what it will take to reduce U.S. consumption of foreign oil and to cut greenhouse gas emissions. With the reality sinking in that high gas prices (already more than $4 per gallon in some places) are here to stay, American car buyers ended their nearly two-decade love affair with the sport-utility vehicle and other gas guzzlers. Overall sales at the Big Three automakers were way down compared with figures from April 2007 -- and the drop was driven by plummeting sales of light trucks and SUVs. Chrysler's Jeep Commander SUV dropped 49 percent. General Motors' Chevrolet Tahoe fell 35 percent. And Ford's F-series pickup trucks declined 27 percent. Helping 9/11's Survivors (Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) THE SURVIVORS' Fund, the only charity established after Sept. 11, 2001, specifically in response to the attack on the Pentagon, was far from the largest or best-known relief effort aimed at victims and their loved ones. Measured by efficacy, however, it may have been unsurpassed. Free the Food (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) AMONG THE many negative consequences of the recent explosion in food prices is that more than 40 countries have taken steps to discourage grain exports -- or to stop them altogether. For hard-pressed governments in the developing world, this is a politically tempting and, indeed, understandable approach: One's own hungry citizens come first. But it is fatally shortsighted. Over time, the curtailment in trade simply encourages hoarding and discourages production. The result: shrinking supplies and higher prices. Olympic Gag Order (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) WHEN BEIJING was bidding to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, part of its pitch was that the games would help promote human rights in China, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bought it. But with the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies less than three months away, it looks as if the reverse is the case -- that China's repressive norms are affecting the rest of the world. Maryland's Shady Operator (Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) AS A CANDIDATE for the Maryland Senate two years ago, Nathaniel Exum, a Prince George's County Democrat, asserted that he was "a proven servant of the people." In fact, he is a proven servant of special interests, often unsavory ones. Burma's Blockade (Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) A HORRIFIC CRIME is being carried out by the clique of generals that rules Burma, with the world as witness. According to the United Nations, some 1.5 million people near the country's southern coast are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance following Cyclone Nargis last weekend. Tens of thousands are dead, and 1 million or more are homeless. The few reports reaching the outside world from the Irrawaddy Delta region, where 2,000 square miles are underwater, speak of thousands of refugees camped in the open without food, medicine or clean water amid the stench of rotting bodies. Needed Testimony (Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) NEARLY SEVEN years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, questions remain about the administration's legal and policy responses to the tragedy. Is the president, as Justice Department lawyers have argued, virtually unconstrained in carrying out his commander-in-chief duties during wartime? Do that power and exigent circumstances allow him to sanction interrogation techniques that skirt domestic and international strictures against torture? How much latitude does the executive have in designing and carrying out domestic surveillance programs? These and similar questions will confront the next president, regardless of party affiliation. One man could be particularly important to understanding this administration's choices and the options open to future presidents. Open Klingle Road (Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) MAYOR ADRIAN M. Fenty (D) has more than proved his mettle in taking on such entrenched interests as the District school system and the city's cabbies. But even he may be no match for the few but powerful opponents of reopening Klingle Road. The setback to his plans to restore and reopen the road is sad testament to how the best interests of the public can be trampled by the wants of a self-interested minority. Plow It Under (Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) AFTER WEEKS of wheeling and dealing, a House-Senate conference committee has finally produced a farm bill. And what an unlovely creation it is. The nearly $300 billion, five-year legislation brims with subsidies for everything from biofuels to historic-barn preservation. It includes a dubious sugar-to-ethanol program and billions of dollars for a permanent disaster relief fund that essentially pays farmers to grow crops on land too dry to sustain them. And it perpetuates the multibillion-dollar system of direct payments to corn, wheat, rice, cotton and soybean growers, with only minimal limitations on how much of this corporate welfare rich farmers can receive. Zimbabwe's Terror (Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) AS THE WORLD looks on, Robert Mugabe's campaign of terror against the people of Zimbabwe continues unchecked. On Thursday, The Post's Craig Timberg reported that gangs from Mr. Mugabe's ruling party beat 11 opposition activists to death on Monday in the town of Chiweshe, 90 miles north of the capital of Harare. The same day, at least five people were murdered by the president's thugs in the village of Dakudzwa, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times. Across the country, truckloads of men are pulling into rural villages and towns that voted against Mr. Mugabe in the March 29 elections, rounding up opposition supporters for beatings or worse and burning their homes and crops. Unready in the Capital (Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) AREPORT from Congress warns that the Washington area is ill-prepared to deal with the medical consequences of a catastrophic event. What's scary -- and maddening -- about this grim reminder of the region's vulnerability is that one possible solution is at hand but has languished because of government inaction. Instead of just sounding the alarm, Congress needs to find the money for a project that would go a long way toward improving disaster preparedness for the high-risk Washington region. Mr. Obama Moves On (Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) AFTER A ROUGH patch, the confident, eloquent Barack Obama was back Tuesday night, proclaiming victory in North Carolina and, all but explicitly, in the Democratic nomination contest as well. Hillary Clinton may, as she promised yesterday, fight on through the next few weeks of primaries, but after her disappointing showing Tuesday she has no plausible route to victory. So Mr. Obama was sounding themes for the coming battle against John McCain. He will cede no ground on patriotism. He will paint Mr. McCain as a man of the past. Above all, he will end the politics of "polarization and gridlock" by "telling the truth -- forcefully, repeatedly, confidently -- and by trusting that the American people will embrace the need for change." Mr. Medvedev's Rule (Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) SHORTLY AFTER being sworn in as Russian president yesterday, Dmitry Medvedev declared that "my most important task is to further develop civil and economic freedoms." Above all, said the 42-year-old former law professor, "we must achieve true respect for the law and end the legal nihilism that is seriously hindering modern development." D.C. Earmarks (Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) WHEN IT COMES to earmarks, the District of Columbia is making up for lost time. Just five years ago, these questionable appropriations of public funds didn't occur in the city. Now they are routine. In the past four years, an estimated $98 million in direct grants went to private groups, and the opening tally for next year is approaching $40 million. The groups on the receiving end may well do good work, but until the District reforms its system, taxpayers are right to be suspicious and resentful. Catastrophe in Burma (Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) ONLY SLOWLY has it become clear that the damage inflicted on Burma by Tropical Cyclone Nargis last weekend was catastrophic -- perhaps the worst natural disaster in the country's modern history, and a tragedy comparable to that suffered by Sri Lanka or Indonesia in the 2004 tsunami. By yesterday the official death count had risen to more than 22,000, with another 41,000 missing. International relief groups said dozens of villages in the heavily populated Irrawaddy Delta region were wiped out by a tidal surge 12 feet high; 95 percent of homes were destroyed in the township of Bogalay, with a population of 190,000. As many as 1 million people may be homeless. Red Meat, Overdone (Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) JUDICIAL nominations have never been a particular passion of Arizona Sen. John McCain. The presumptive Republican nominee for president got himself crosswise with conservatives in his party when he helped convene the bipartisan Gang of 14 senators to avert a showdown over the use of the filibuster to kill judicial nominations. That may be why, on a day when Democrats were holding yet another set of primaries, Mr. McCain felt the need to demonstrate his conservative bona fides when it comes to one of the most important and longest-lasting powers of a president: selecting judges. Soap, Toilet Paper and Sacrifice (Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) ONE OF THE MAIN unions representing public employees in Montgomery County has produced a fascinating document whose stated aim is to help the county government, currently struggling with plummeting revenue and the prospect of soaring taxes, achieve greater efficiency and cost savings. The document has achieved a measure of notoriety for its curious suggestion that inmates at the county jail receive limited weekly rations of toilet paper and soap, a dubious proposal on both sanitary and humanitarian grounds. Unfortunately, what goes unmentioned in the document is the elephant in the room: the union's own sweetheart deal and its cost to county residents. Sweetheart Deal (Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) THE DEADLINE for completion of a new farm bill has been pushed back to May 16. But the endless wrangling over a piece of legislation that Congress once hoped to finish in 2007 has not induced a significant change in the thinking of those who regard it as an opportunity to lock in lush new benefits for American agricultural producers. President Bush has reportedly relaxed his position on means-testing for farm subsidies, offering to permit individuals earning up to $500,000 to continue receiving direct payments. Yet farm-state lawmakers are holding out for a level nearly twice that. The Peace Corps Wants You (Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) "The men and women who join the Peace Corps reflect the rich diversity of America in race, ethnic background, age, and religion." Correction (Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) The May 5 editorial "Phosphates and the Bay" misspelled the name of the consumer products company Procter & Gamble. Bolivia's Rift (Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT) BOLIVIAN President Evo Morales claims to be ruling his country on behalf of an indigenous majority whose rights have been denied for centuries by an evil "oligarchy." In fact, as a referendum in the country's largest province has demonstrated, Mr. Morales is pursuing a narrow and divisive agenda that, if continued, will split Bolivia along geographic as well as ethnic lines, and possibly trigger a civil war. FOXNews.com Ollie North: Petronomics 101 (Fri, 09 May 2008 02:16:55 EST) Few politicians seem to have given a second thought to the fact that this country hasn't had an energy plan for the last30 years |
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