Saturday pundits do it better. Or louder. Whichever comes first.
TEHRAN — This has become the city of whispers. Many of the people I spoke to when I arrived last week are in prison. Stabbings and shootings punctuate the night. Fear rushes down alleys and dead ends. Still the whispering continues.
"Tomorrow, Vanak Square." Or "Four o’clock, Imam Khomeini Square." Or "Everyone wear black."
GOP stalwart Henry the K thinks Obama's doing the right things on Iran while Rich Lowry thinks Obama is stunningly naive. I am awaiting Lowry's expose´ column on the stunning naivity of Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and other GOP fossils. Crickets.
A string of new polls seems to show that America’s belief in the wonder-working power of Obamanomics has begun to fade. A Pew poll found President Obama’s economic approval rating has fallen to 52 percent from 60 percent in April. A Wall Street Journal poll found 53 percent disapprove of his handling of GM and Chrysler vs. 39 who approve. And the New York Times found that 60 percent don’t think Obama has a "clear plan" to deal with the monstrous budget deficit.
Of course, his job approval remains almost untouched, and no one likes bailing out greedy and short-sighted corporate America, and it's early to decide about the economy. But the polls do suggest that while there's plenty of political capital left for the WH to spend, it's not unlimited... and deficits matter, at least politically.
Even with the murders that have already occurred, Americans are not paying enough attention to the frightening connection between the right-wing hate-mongers who continue to slither among us and the gun crazies who believe a well-aimed bullet is the ticket to all their dreams.
NYT debates doctor salaries and health care. Words of wisdom for a primary care physician:
We need to value the time doctors spend with patients. Instead of being encouraged to squeeze in appointments and rush through office visits, doctors should be "incentivized" to take the time to counsel and guide, along with improving their communication with patients, not only in person, but over the phone and on the Internet.
and from academics:
Many American doctors now support a single payer approach because it would improve health and remove the crushing paperwork burden that private insurers impose.
WaPo on "who's left on the GOP bench now that reserve QB John Ensign ruptured his integrity". Watch Lisa Schiffren (a Dan Quayle speechwriter - and yes, that makes you at home at least as qualified to weigh in) tout Sarah Palin, John Cornyn and Tom Coburn to understand how many splinters the bench will give you (I guess that's why no one wants to sit on it.) Next week: Why Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan are the GOP's best hope.
What struck me was that virtually every story about Ensign’s fall from grace included a reference to his having been considered a possible contender for his party’s presidential nomination in 2012.
Who knew? I have to admit, I had trouble even putting a face to Ensign’s name.
