Visual Source: Newseum
The "how to spell Muammar el-Qaddafi" edition. As of today, he's No Mo.
It's just about over:
From the first cautious ventures out of the hard-fought prize of Zawiyah, the rebels’ advance became a headlong rush into the heart of Tripoli and Green Square, the symbol of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s power. By nightfall, the rebels were in command of the square, the scene of so many manic, forced declarations of fealty to Colonel Qaddafi. Now, the portraits were ripped down, along with the green flags that marked his rule. Instead, young men waved rebel flags in the renamed Martyrs’ Square.
National Journal:
While rebels in Libya took over the streets of Tripoli and declared an end to the rule of Muammar el-Qaddafi, major questions quickly need to be answered in the coming hours and days, including what kind of transitional government comes next and whether an international peacekeeping force should be sent into the North African country.
Current and former U.S. government officials expressed concern late Sunday that Libya could tailspin into chaos without a steady transition and quick establishment of new laws.
Sane Republicans who can't win:
Politico:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s denial of global warming poses a “serious problem” for Republicans trying to take back the White House in 2012, presidential rival Jon Huntsman says.
“The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party – the anti-science party, we have a huge problem. We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012,” the former Utah governor said in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Politico:
Chris Christie made clear he falls in the Jon Huntsman camp as opposed to the Rick Perry camp on the scientific-political issue of the week in the Republican primary:
In vetoing a bill (S2946) that would have required New Jersey to stay in a regional program intended to curb greenhouse gases — a program Christie plans to leave by the end of the year — the governor said "climate change is real."
He added that "human activity plays a role in these changes" and that climate change is "impacting our state."
Insane Republicans
who can:
But one week off that triumph, Bachmann is feeling the effects of the latest GOP comet, Rick Perry. Her momentum, which ought to be on the rise, suddenly shows signs of ebbing amid questions of her electability. Her privileged position as the newest, hottest candidate in the GOP field has been usurped by the Texas governor, who’s also sped past her in the polls.
Ross Douthat:
Perry’s 2012 rivals can’t afford to entertain such thoughts. If either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama hopes to snap the Texas governor’s winning streak, the election will need to become a referendum on Perry himself, in all his heat-packing, secession-contemplating glory. If it becomes a referendum on his home state instead, Perry’s 11th campaign will probably turn out like all the others.
But Perry could well make it all about him. Because it is.
EJ Dionne:
President Obama has only one option as he ponders a world economy teetering on the edge: He needs to go big, go long and go global.
Obama should not be constrained by what the Tea Party might allow subservient Republican leaders in Congress to do. He should state plainly, eloquently and in detail what he thinks needs to happen. Neither history nor the voters will be kind to him if he lets caution and political calculation get in the way.