InfoAlert

Posted February 1, 2010

Politics & Government: Presidency | Diplomacy | Federal Government/U.S. Politics | Judicial System | State & Local Government

Government Initiatives: Information & Communication | Homeland Security | Social Security & Welfare

Politics & Government:

Presidency

Tracking Obama's Promises
National Journal, January 8, 2010

• Has Obama Kept His Campaign Pledges?
  Friedl, Kevin
  National Journal, January 8, 2010
  "Soon after, the stimulus package included funding for electronic health records, and Vice President Biden announced the identity of the first White House adviser on violence against women, checking another pledge off the list. The stimulus bill partly fulfilled his pledges to help displaced workers and to boost small-business development, while the passage of the Credit Card Act and the progress of financial reform legislation begin to meet his promise to protect consumers and guard against the abuses that led to the crisis. But following through on his promises to break with Bush administration policy hasn't proved easy."
  Kevin Friedl is a staff writer for National Journal.
• Obama Finds Reality Is Messy
  Englund, Will
  National Journal, January 8, 2010
  "A good number of Americans are now thrusting their worries and fears onto President Obama, rather than their hopes and dreams, but what everyone is doing is waiting to see how this turns out. The health care bill headed his way -- pummeled and shaken up and overhauled and practically waterboarded in Congress -- will be trumpeted as a signature achievement of the new administration. But does it inspire hope? Does the final product of such a gruesome sausage-making process hold the promise of more and better change to come?"
• The Impotence of Hope
  Kirk, Victor
  National Journal, January 8, 2010
  "Put a different way, as Obama's poll numbers have slid to around 50 percent, as unemployment continues to hover at 10 percent, as the deficit soars, as the results of the troop buildup in Afghanistan and the drawdown in Iraq remain uncertain, as Republicans raise security alarms after a near-miss terrorist airplane incident, it's hard to identify an area where Obama can pursue action that would change the political dynamics. After a big celebration at the White House whenever Democrats pass massive health care legislation -- a step that eluded seven other presidents -- there is little else on the horizon to give reason for cheer."
  Kirk Victor covers the White House for National Journal. Fulltext articles C1/01-10

The Promises Audit
National Journal, January 8, 2010, online edition
"As memories of the campaign trail fade, it's easy to forget some of the more than 200 promises made by Barack Obama. Use the directory below to follow along as NationalJournal.com reporters track progress made by the Obama administration in keeping its word to Americans." Fulltext C2/01-10

Barack Obama’s Year in Review
Purdum, Todd S.
Vanity Fair, January 20, 2010, online edition
"The first 365 days are a notoriously bad predictor for presidential success, but there’s no escaping the fact that they’ve been brutal. Surveying the wreckage of “Yes, We Can” promise, the author argues that it’s still far too early to count Obama out."
Todd S. Purdum is the national editor of Vanity Fair. Fulltext C3/01-10

President Obama, one Year on
American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3
"At the first anniversary of Obama's Inauguration, The American Interest takes stock and looks ahead. Essays by Francis Fukuyama, Walter Russell Mead, Niall Ferguson, Josef Joffe, Anne Applebaum, and more:

• FDR, LBJ or Jimmy Carter?
  Fukuyama, Francis
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "There are three Democratic predecessors in whose footsteps Barack Obama could follow: Jimmy Carter, who was seen as a failure in both domestic and foreign policy; Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded at home but failed abroad; and Franklin Roosevelt, who achieved great things on both fronts. If Obama gets a reasonable health care reform bill through Congress, which I think is likely to happen, he gets to be at least Lyndon Johnson. Whether he moves beyond that point to something greater will depend on how he uses his legacy on the home front to deal with the foreign policy challenges he is facing."
  Francis Fukuyama is professor of international political economy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and chairman of the AI editorial board.
• Solid and Promising
  Tuchman Mathews, Jessica
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "It is axiomatic that successful Presidents must focus their political capital on just a few priorities. Barack Obama has had no such luxury. Just on the international front, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the deepening Israeli-Palestinian conflict, near-term deadlines requiring policy reversals on nuclear proliferation and climate change, a broken relationship with Russia, and a global financial crisis with an unprecedented need for broad international cooperation, all demanded immediate, presidential-level attention. No president since Harry Truman has inherited as tough an international inbox."
  Jessica Tuchman Mathews is president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
• Consider Lincoln
  Mead, Walter Russell
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Mr. President, your critics aren’t wrong; your presidency isn’t going well, and things will probably get worse before they get better. You have some tough weeks and months ahead. But don’t feel too bad about this: Crisis is what presidencies are made of. Consider Lincoln."
  Walter Russell Mead is the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations
• The Open Hand, Slapped
  Perle, Richard
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Obama would certainly enjoy public support for more robust policies. Opinion surveys show that the American people are uncomfortable with his dithering and his incessant apologizing, and growing weary of the high ratio of talk to action. The Nobel Peace Prize highlighted the paucity of results from Obama’s first year, causing many to reflect on what he has actually accomplished."
  Richard Perle is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and served as Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration (1981–87).
• A Lack of Leadership
  Steel, Ronald
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Barack Obama is an intelligent and eloquent man. He inspires. But he does not lead. Although elected by a post-Cold War coalition, he has failed to engage it in a post-Cold War foreign policy, or even to outline what such a foreign policy should be. What he has so far offered is Bush-Rumsfeld re-warmed, without the macho posturing hiding the quiet post-9/11 panic."
  Ronald Steel is professor emeritus of international relations at the University of Southern California.
• Good Start, Long Road
  Nye, Joseph S.
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Through a series of symbolic gestures and speeches (Prague, Cairo, Accra, the United Nations and others), Obama worked wonders in restoring American soft, or attractive, power in his first year of office. As a recent Pew poll reported, “in many countries opinions of the United States are now as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office.” As an Australian commentator summarized, “it helps a country’s public image when its head of state is widely liked rather than widely disliked."
  Joseph S. Nye is University Distinguished Service professor at Harvard.
• The Perils of Wishful Thinking
  Kagan, Robert
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "The fundamental assumption is that the great powers today share common interests. Relations among them, therefore, “must no longer be seen as a zero-sum game”, as President Obama argued in July 2009. The Obama Doctrine is about “Win-Win” and “getting to Yes.” The new “mission” of the United States, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is to be the great convener of nations, gathering the powers to further common interests and seek common solutions to the world’s problems."
  Robert Kagan is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
• The Right Grand Strategy
  Ikenberry, John
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "The question to ask is: Has the Obama team articulated a grand strategy that is responsive to these looming global problems? In a world where the threats and challenges are so diffuse and deeply entrenched, the United States needs a grand strategy of global order-building that puts in place frameworks for sustained partnership and collective action on many fronts. The good news is that the Obama Administration seems to be animated by precisely this vision."
  G. John Ikenberry is Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University and Global Eminence Scholar at Kyung Hee University, Korea.
• Who is this Guy?
  Joffe, Josef
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "We used to have a fairly good sense early on where on these axes past Presidents were situated, give or take a few feet. But we don’t know where Barack Obama is. Is he an internationalist? Yes, he likes multilateralism and cooperation. But he is also a nationalist in the sense that he spends most of his energy in and on America: with health care and cultural politics like gay rights."
  Publisher-editor of Die Zeit, Josef Joffe is a founding board member of The American Interest and senior fellow of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies as well as Abramowitz Fellow of the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford.
• Policy Isn't Just Analysis
  Gelb, Leslie H.
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Obama has also cleared the international air of a lot of anti-Americanism. His speeches demonstrated an awareness of foreign problems and perspectives. The speeches have convinced people around the world that Washington is not totally out of touch with post-Cold War realities. His words have prepared the ground for the subsequent application of real American power. The problem is that the power shoe still hasn’t dropped."
  Leslie H. Gelb is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former senior State and Defense Department official, as well as a columnist for the New York Times.
• A Mixed Picture
  Galston, William A.
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "While the President remains personally popular, public opinion surveys point to declining support for many of his policies. And the people are signaling their disappointment with some of his key strategic choices. His decision to pursue comprehensive healthcare reform along with an economic rescue and recovery program has contributed to rising public concerns about spending and the budget deficit, and to the growing perception that he is trying to do too much. As Obama took office, 70 percent of Americans saw him as possessing “strong leadership qualities”, and 63 percent rated him as “firm and decisive.”
  William A. Galston is an AI board member and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Ezra Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies.
• Mistaken Assumptions
  Barone, Michael
  American Interest, January-February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Barack Obama has based his policies as President on two assumptions. One year after his election both assumptions appear to have been mistaken. His domestic policies have been based on the assumption that economic distress would produce an increased demand for, or at least acceptance of, big government policies."
  Michael Barone is senior political analyst at the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.
• Not Much Change
  Applebaum, Anne
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Like almost everybody else, I’ve spent much of the past year criticizing Barack Obama, second-guessing many of his decisions, finding fault with the incompetence of some of his appointees. Perhaps it sounds peculiar, then, but when I look back on the year as a whole, I find that I am nevertheless still inclined to withhold judgment."
  Anne Applebaum, an AI board member, is a columnist for the Washington Post and Slate.
• Big Bite, Tough Chew
  Marshall, Will
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "How to grade President Obama’s first year in office? As Zhou Enlai replied when asked his opinion of the French Revolution, “It’s too soon to say.” Obama has set in motion a host of bold reforms that could break some of America’s deepest political impasses, or cause massive disillusionment if they fail. The big question now is whether his tenacity matches his audacity."
  Will Marshall is president of the Progressive Policy Institute.
• No Breakthrough
  Clemons, Steve
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "Obama’s presidency thus started in a deep hole, much deeper than faced by any U.S. presidency in modern times. Against that backdrop, Obama’s performance deserves applause for doing what needed to be done to avert global depression and for not tripping into any “new” back-breaking military deployments beyond those currently under way. But avoiding worse problems does not equal getting America back on a track where its power and global leverage are restored and where the United States is again the lead force in shaping the international system. On this front, Barack Obama and his team have generated mixed, often disappointing results."
  Steve Clemons directs the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.
• Three More Years
  Krasner, Stephen D.
  American Interest, January/February 2010, v5, #3, online edition
  "The success of Barack Obama’s presidency will depend on his domestic accomplishments: health care, financial reform and the overall state of the economy. His presidency could be wrecked by foreign policy developments; it cannot be redeemed by them. The five big foreign policy challenges that the Administration confronts—North Korea, Iran, Middle East peace, Af-Pak and Iraq—offer no opportunities for big wins, but there could be big losses. It is not clear, one year on, that the President sees things this way, but eventually he will, because that is all reality will offer."
  Stephen D. Krasner, an AI board member, is Graham H. Stuart professor at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and the Hoover Institution. He served as director of Policy Planning in the State Department from 2005–07. Fulltext articles C4/01-10

The Carter Syndrome
Mead, Walter Russell
Foreign Policy, January/February 2010, online edition
"In this article Walter Russell Mead says that when it comes to foreign policy, Barack Obama could end up being another Jimmy Carter. He argues that Obama is "neither a cold-blooded realist nor a bleeding-heart idealist," and in the end, if he doesn't reconcile the two impulses, it could tear his presidency apart."
Walter Russell Mead is Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Fulltext C5/01-10

Presidential Terms and Tenure: Perspectives and Proposals for Change
Neale, Thomas H.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report, Library of Congress, October 19, 2009, online edition, 30p (PDF)
"Although the length of the presidential term was decided after spirited debate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and the 22nd Amendment provides term limits for the President, proposed constitutional amendments that would alter these provisions are occasionally introduced in Congress. One proposal, which would lengthen the President and Vice President’s terms to six years, was introduced frequently through the 103rd Congress. Some six-year term amendments proposed limiting the President to a single term, while others allowed for two terms, or no limit at all. Another category of amendment, which continues to be introduced in most Congresses, would repeal the 22nd Amendment. H.J.Res. 5, introduced in the 111th Congress by Representative José E. Serrano, falls into this category. H.J.Res. 5 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, but no further action has been taken to date."
Thomas H. Neale is a specialist in American National Government at CRS. Fulltext C6/01-10

Diplomacy

U.S. Diplomacy in the Age of Facebook and Twitter: An Address on 21st Century Statecraft -- A Discussion
Ross, Alec (speaker); Lord, Kristin M. (discussant) ; Piccone, Ted (moderator)
Brookings Institution, December 17, 2009, online edition, 48p (pdf)
"The current revolution in communications technologies and the emergence of new media platforms are transforming the practice of American foreign policy. Today’s diplomats are seeking ways to exploit new tools such as social media, short message service (SMS), and other mobile applications on the more than 4.6 billion mobile phones in use around the world. To respond to this changing environment, the U.S. State Department, under the leadership of Secretary Hillary Clinton, is exploring new avenues in 21st century statecraft, seeking to maximize the potential of these technologies in service of America’s diplomatic and development goals."
Alec Ross is senior advisor for Innovation, United States Department of State. Kristin M. Lord is the nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the vice President and director of studies at Center for a New American Security. Theodore Piccone is the senior fellow and deputy director, Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution. Fulltext C7/01-10

U.S. Public Diplomacy: Background and Current Issues
Nakamura, Kennon H.; Weed, Matthew C.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report, Library of Congress, December 18, 2009, online edition, 70p (PDF)
"After the 9/11 terror attacks, there was new interest in promoting effective public diplomacy, as a struggle against extremist ideologies became crucial to the overall fight against terrorism. In recent years, many observers have called for increased resources for and improvement of U.S. public diplomacy efforts. A number of challenges and questions, however, currently affect the future of U.S. government communications with foreign publics. Some argue that abolishing USIA was a mistake and that the State Department is ill-suited to conduct long-term public diplomacy." In this report, CRS analysts Nakamura and Weed examine issues for Congress on U.S. public diplomacy relating to funding, capabilities, technologies, structures, interagency coordination, and creation of a national public diplomacy strategy.
Kennon H. Nakamura is an analyst in Foreign Affairs at CRS. Matthew C. Weed is an analyst in Foreign Policy Legislation at CRS. Fulltext C8/01-10

Federal Government/US Politics

Judicial System

The Emerging Law of Detention: The Guantánamo Habeas Cases as Lawmaking
Wittes, Benjamin; Chesney Robert M.; Benhalim, Rabea
Brookings Institution, Governance Studies, January 22, 2010, online edition, 106p (PDF)
"On January 22, 2009, President Obama set a one-year deadline for closing the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. With the facility still open and the president’s decision not to seek additional legislative authority for detentions there—combined with Congress’s lack of interest in the task—judges must write the rules governing military detention of terrorist suspects."
Benjamin Wittes is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. Robert M. Chesney is a nonresident senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. Rabea Benhalim is a legal fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. Fulltext C15/01-10

Number Nine
Collins, Lauren
New Yorker, January 11, 2010, v85, #44, pp42-55
"This article profiles U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor discussing her reputation for practicality, her liberal background, and her judicial methods. A Particular focus is given to the types of questions she asked during her first week as a Supreme Court Justice. The article also discussed the e lobbying undertaken by Hispanic American leaders prior to Sotomayor's nomination."
Lauren Collins is a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2003. Fulltext C16/01-10

State & Local Government

Legislatures 2010
Governing, January 2010, online edition

• Broke and Broken
  Gurwitt, Rob
  Governing, January 2010, online edition
  "States are experiencing their worst fiscal situation in decades, but it's not just the bank that's broken, it's the system."
  Rob Gurwitt is a correspondent for Governing.
• Statehouse Standstill
  Greenblatt, Alan
  Governing, January 2010, online edition
  "Hyper-partisanship has spread from Washington to the states. It's making needed change very hard to accomplish."
  Alan Greenblatt is a Governing staff writer and an editor of Governing’s Ballot Box blog.
• Top 10 Legislative Issues to Watch 2010
  Goodman, Josh
  Governing, January 2010, online edition
  "In the wake of the Great Recession, here are the topics that will capture the attention of state legislators."
  Josh Goodman is a Governing staff writer. Fulltext articles C17/01-10

Government Initiatives

Information and Communication

Internet Freedom Essential to Human Rights, Economic Prosperity
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Department of State, January 21, 2010
"In a major foreign policy speech, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined the U.S. commitment to Internet freedom, which she said is essential to upholding human rights and encouraging economic prosperity." Fulltext C18/01-10

Internet Free Speech
Public Citizen, January 2010, online edition
"The rapid growth of the Internet and Internet technologies provides a renewed opportunity for citizens to have their voices heard on a wide variety of issues, including their government, the corporations that have an increasing role in their economic security, and the unions that represent their labor interests. The Internet affords individuals the ability to exchange ideas on these and other issues with an ever-growing world community. This site includes guide for bloggers and non-profit organizations, legal perils and legal rights of Internet speakers, and Internet free speech cases." Fulltext C19/01-10

Homeland Security

Changing Homeland Security: Twelve Questions From 2009
Bellavita, Christopher
Homeland Security Affairs, January 2010, v6, #1, pp1-30
"In this article Christopher Bellavita reviews and categorizes several hundred 2009 homeland security news stories. The stories suggest at least twelve questions that frame some important homeland security puzzles, with “puzzle" used in the same way Thomas Kuhn used the word to describe what spurs progress in science. These puzzles cover risk, preparedness, immigration, FEMA, intelligence, technology, aviation and cyber security, privacy, torture, Islam, and public health."
Christopher Bellavita teaches at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he serves as the director of academic programs for the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Fulltext C20/01-10

Social Security and Welfare

Closing the Health Care Workforce Gap
Derksen, Daniel J.; Whelan, Ellen-Marie
Center for American Progress, December 2009, online edition, 35p (PDF)
"With the health care reform proposals currently moving through Congress expected to provide health coverage for over 30 million additional Americans, one aspect of health care reform that deserves further examination is how reform will affect the health care workforce. This report provides several recommendations to alleviate current and future workforce shortage problems in the health care industry, and discuss how the reform measures currently moving through Congress reflect these recommendations."
Ellen-Marie Whelan is a Senior Health Policy Analyst and Associate Director of Health Policy at American Progress. Daniel J. Derksen is a Senior Fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy, and Professor of Family & Community Medicine, at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Fulltext C21/01-10

Understanding Obamacare
Mitchell, Luke
Harper's, December 2009, v319, #1915, pp7-10
"Luke Mitchell talks about the health care reform of the Obama administration and asserts that the real battle in Washington is seldom between conservatives and liberals or the right and the left or "red America" and "blue America." It is nearly always a more local contest, over which politicians will enjoy the privilege of representing the interests of the rich. And so it is with health-care reform. The debate in Washington this fall ought to have been about why the US has the worst health-care system in the developed world, why Americans pay twice the Western average to maintain that system, and what fundamental changes are needed to make the system better serve its people."
Luke Mitchell is a senior editor of Harper’s Magazine. Order article C22/01-10

Dr. James will Make it + Better
Leonhardt, David
New York Times Magazine, November 8, 2009, pp11-22
"Medicare is on a long-term path to insolvency. Leonhardt comments that the American health care system is vastly more expensive than any other country but its results are not vastly better. Any bill that Congress passes this year is unlikely to fix these problems but the modern history of medicine--the story that Dr. Brent James tells--nonetheless offers a reason for optimism. Among other things, a loose group of reformers has been trying to figure out how to improve health care while holding down the growth in costs."
David Leonhardt is an economics journalist with the New York Times. Fulltext C23/01-10

Housing the Homeless: Is the Solution more Shelters or Affordable Housing?
Katel, Peter
CQ Researcher, December 18, 2009, v19, #44, pp1053-1076
"The face of homelessness is changing in the United States. In the past, the homeless typically were single men and women who lived on the street or in shelters; many were mentally ill or drug addicts, or both. But today’s homeless may well be a suburban couple with children who lost their home to foreclosure and are staying with relatives or living at a shelter. As the recession continues to ravage the middle class and the working poor, job losses and medical emergencies add to the number of homeless Americans. Advocates for the homeless also cite a shortage of affordable housing. A 2008 federal government survey showed a one-year 9 percent increase in families relying on homeless shelters. In recent months, local governments and school districts have been reporting homelessness cases more than doubling this year. But funding shortages may force agencies that help the homeless to curtail services."
Peter Katel is a CQ Researcher staff writer. Order article C24/01-10