Well, Ross Douthat complemented Hillary in a backhanded manner, while wising the GOP would find a rational anti-terrortist policy to run on.
His key line is: "We don't face a single Soviet-style threat or a convenient "axis" of allied evils. We can't defeat ISIS and contain Iran and push back Russia and contain China all at once. So we need a President who can see the strategic chessboard whole, who can instill fear in our rivals but also negotiate boldly in situations where the opportunity presents itself."
Don't worry my right wing readers, he is really praising Richard Nixon and postulating that Hillary may possess some of Nixon's weaknesses, but being adamant that none of the GOP candidates offer a rational anti-terrorist policy.
Link to Ross Douthat column
Meanwhile Frank Bruni wrote a column about How ISIS is winning, while losing, and the need for a nuanced respectful political process. He is disappointed that President Obama cannot try to unite the country on this front because it undermines the good that the President can do. I refer people to my blog written sometime ago bemoaning his executive action on immigration because just as in Roe v Wade, some social issues are better decided by the legislative process because that finalizes them, while court decision/executive actions simple decide them and leave the anger festering with the hope of overturning that decision eventually.
Bruni's column got me thinking. The last 2 years of a term limited Presidency have not turned out well since Eisenhower. Neither Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter or Bush I got there. Reagan did and I don't have much memory of what happened there other than black Monday because I was a young father and it was a long time ago. But Clinton had the Lewinsky incident and all that led to. Bush II had the collapse of the financial system from the nonexistent regulation of the mortgage market. And Obama is not getting much accomplished because I think he has lost the mental energy to negotiate with the GOP and fight back against the most liberal elements of the Democratic party.
For my right wing readers, remember that within the both the ACA and Dodd-Frank there were negotiations with the GOP and what came out of this was arguably GOP style policy. Democrats would have instituted a Single Payer Medicare For All, and would have broken up the Big Banks, no matter how idiotic that would be. Instead, we got Heritage Foundation designed Health Insurance, and once must remember why the Heritage Foundation deemed it worthy to look at Health Insurance. Heath Care costs had risen to 20% of GDP with no expectation of a decline in sight.
So I share some of Bruni's disappointment with President's Obama statements this past week, and wonder if the U.S. wouldn't be better off with one 6 year term, like Mexico does. The experience of most of my life is year's 7 & 8 don't turn out too well. Just a thought.
Link to Frank Bruni column
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