August 31, 2009 • 3:52 pm
Should we long for the days of Nixon? Paul Krugman thinks so. Sure, Watergate and Cambodia were not commendable, but the old-school Republican approach did accomplish a lot in those five years. What Nixon understood was that Democrats are not going away, and that the only way for Republicans to get anything done was to compromise. For all of Nixon’s faults (and there were plenty), at least he had the good sense to reach across party lines and shake a few hands every once in a while, particularly when it came to an issue as pressing as health care. Ted Kennedy, who passed away last week, was another example of a politician who had the decency to work with his rivals. Alas, an era has ended.
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August 5, 2009 • 10:24 pm
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists arrested in North Korea, were released yesterday by the regime after talks between former President Bill Clinton and “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il. It was an act of pure altruism on the part of Clinton, and the two prisoners are visibly grateful. This is eating up the neoconservatives. Obama, by allowing Clinton to work independently of the administration, knew what he would be in for if he were to do it himself. John Bolton’s op-ed is the most glaring example.
What is unnerving is the pervasiveness of this type of attitude among neocons and some not-so-neo cons. A lot of people sincerely believe that the United States has the right to dictate how everyone in the world should behave and that diplomacy is not even an option in some cases. The cynicism on the right is often baffling, but this is quite extreme even by their standards. Reagan Republicans love to recall their hero’s denunciation of Carter during the 1980 presidential campaign, but few tend to remember that Reagan also negotiated for the release of hostages in Iran and Lebanon. The double standard is huge.
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