Wall Street’s Victory Lap
By Simon Johnson, The Huffington Post
5.26.10
“”Business as usual” is the abiding legacy of the Obama administration with regard to the systemic risks posed by this financial system. Treasury and White House let us down repeatedly and completely in the last 18 months on financial sector issues — just as they did (as [...]

Bill Clinton has evolved into Obama’s Mr. Fix-It
By Philip Rucker and Paul Kane, The Washington Post
5.28.10
“Republicans have taken notice, suggesting that Clinton might play a bigger role this cycle than Obama. “President Obama spends his days in the Oval Office, but it appears, more and more, that he has no idea how to use it,” [...]

For a few years, I had greatly admired Jeffrey Sachs. By no means is he a household name as of yet despite penning two bestsellers, “Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Plant” and “The End of Poverty.” He is considered to be the leading international economic advisor of his generation, possibly the most influential living [...]

No Child Left Behind: Congress Considers Revisions to Education Reform Law
By Danny Yadron, Politics Daily
5.28.10
“Democrats are split on how to measure teacher performance; Republicans want the federal government out of classrooms, and the goal of making students “college and career ready,” the latest buzzwords in high school reform, still needs a definition before it becomes [...]

Obama’s New National Security Strategy: More questions than answers
By Walter Shapiro, Politics Daily
5.28.10
“The favored Obama foreign policy buzz word, “engagement,” is brandished 42 separate times in 52 pages. In a rebuke to Bush-Cheney lone gunman unilateralism, the Obama national security overview declares, “Engagement is the active participation of the United States in relationships beyond our [...]

A Dishonest Debate on VAT
By Jason Clemens, The Hill
5.28.10
“The debate over a national sales tax, or value-added tax (VAT), to tackle the country’s deficit and debt problems is becoming fiercer as we approach the fall election. Unfortunately, the facts are becoming more obscure, and the narrow scope within which a VAT makes sense is being [...]

According to my good friend Rand Paul, the Deepwater Horizon disaster was an accident and accidents happen.

Let’s get one thing straight. This was no accident.

Oil Shocks
BP and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
By Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker
“The President needs to set higher standards—for his Administration, for Congress, and for the country. Earlier this month, an energy bill was finally unveiled in the Senate. It is deeply flawed: for a start, it would increase the incentives for offshore drilling, and [...]

Development and National Security: Clarity in London, but a Foggy Bottom in Washington
by Jim Kunder, Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network
5.27.10
“When evaluating the national security of the Atlantic nations, a strong defense clearly counts; an active diplomacy counts; and, equally clearly, reducing poverty, enhancing democratic participation, and providing hope for the future – which go by [...]

Why Did North Korea Do It? (& cont’d)
Kevin Drum, Mother Jones
5.26.10
“And then there’s another obvious question: just how long is China willing to put up with all this? Sharon LaFraniere had a pretty good rundown of the Chinese dilemma a few days ago in the New York Times, and their unwillingness to put serious pressure on North [...]