Politics

NYT: Part of the Republicans’ difficulty in countering Mr. Obama, should they have to, is their own cynical racial politics. For the most part, race has been the dog that hasn’t barked in this campaign despite the (largely) white press’s endless fretting about whether the Illinois senator is too white for black voters and too black for white voters. Most Americans aren’t racist, most Republicans included. (Those who are won’t vote for the Democratic presidential candidate even if it’s not…

The New York Times: Renewal is about policy; it’s also about symbolism. Which brings us to Barack Hussein Obama, the Democratic candidate with a Kenyan father, a Kansan mother, an Indonesian stepfather, a childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and impressionable experience of the Muslim world. If the globe can’t vote next November, it can find itself in Obama. Troubled by the violent chasm between the West and the Islamic world? Obama seems to bridge it. Disturbed by the gulf between…

The Atlantic: What does he offer? First and foremost: his face. Think of it as the most effective potential re-branding of the United States since Reagan. Such a re-branding is not trivial—it’s central to an effective war strategy. The war on Islamist terror, after all, is two-pronged: a function of both hard power and soft power. We have seen the potential of hard power in removing the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. We have also seen its inherent weaknesses in Iraq,…

WashPost.: South Carolina’s Republican Party will move its 2008 presidential primary forward to Jan. 19, sources said yesterday, a decision almost certain to spark a cascade of calendar changes that could push the start of voting to New Year’s Day or even to before Christmas. The move, set to be announced today, is likely to cause the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucuses to be shifted at least to early January, and other states are actively angling to stake out…

It was so crowded, I didn’t actually get to see him until after the speech. But it was a good speech nonetheless.

March 17, Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland Doors open at 3 pm. Register here for free tickets.

So Senegal just had its presidential elections this past Sunday, and the results are in today: Abdoulaye Wade has been re-elected. Ethan has a great roundup via Global Voices about what various Senegalese bloggers are saying about things. Not sure who’s who or what’s what? You’re in luck, because Ethan’s also found this fantastic three-part video series: Democracy in Dakar Project 2007.

My editor at Foreign Policy, Mike Boyer, had this scathing comment on FP Passport today with regard to CNN Headline News‘ reaction to Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim to be elected to our legislative body: When it comes to Rep.-elect Keith Ellison of Minnesota, CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck just isn’t sure. That’s because Ellison is Muslim, which Beck said made him “nervous.” Interviewing Ellison on Tuesday, Beck said he felt like questioning Ellison’s loyalty to America.…

Rich: well, didn’t you hear, speaker pelosi is going to infect congress with her SAN FRANCISCO VALUES David: awesome. pretty soon everyone in america will eat tacos and not hate gay people.