Your one stop pundit shop.
Roger Cohen on realism:
Vietnam teaches several lessons, the first of which is that the United States can have normal relations with countries whose political systems and ideologies it rejects. That is as true of Cuba and Iran today as it was of Vietnam or China. For all America’s painful histories with Cuba and Iran, they do not include a war within living memory.
David Broder's main point is that it's a good thing if Obama ignores his base, and says that one of three reasons that Democrats have a hard time being the Commander-in-Chief is:
... that today's Democrats really are isolated from the military. Harry Truman had been an artillery captain; John Kennedy and Carter, Navy officers. But Bill Clinton did everything possible to avoid the draft, and Obama, motivated as he was to public service, never gave a thought to volunteering for the military.
You know, as opposed to those mighty military men, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Oh, and Ronald Reagan. Idiot.
Karl Rove is quite happy that Obama is embracing Bush policies.
Former Senator Bob Graham on what we need to focus on now:
Avoiding a potentially catastrophic attack using weapons of mass destruction starts at the top, with reform of the interaction between the intelligence community and the executive and legislative branches. Congressional intelligence committees were created in the 1970s to ensure accountability ... The controversy over "enhanced interrogation techniques" demonstrates that this relationship of mutual respect and sharing of consequences has shattered. Indeed, the CIA's calendar of legislative briefings indicates that even the appearance of congressional notification occurred after waterboarding and other extraordinary methods of interrogation had been in use for weeks.
The president and leaders in Congress should immediately begin the consultations that will build mutual confidence and help take us back to the original ideal. While that is most important, other work must also be done if we are to sustain a relationship of shared responsibility.
Douglas Feith is still giving advice on Afghanistan and Iraq. And getting paid for it.
Donald Lambro warns that if the economy does better, you can't credit any of Obama's policies.
Mickey Edwards and William S. Sessions say that:
The president has nominated Dawn Johnsen, a University of Indiana law professor, as the director of his Office of Legal Counsel. The Senate should act expeditiously to approve her nomination. Though Ms. Johnsen's politics may not mirror the choice John McCain or other Republicans might have made - they lost the election, after all - her views on the limits of presidential power are precisely what the Constitution envisions and conservatives have long championed.
Meghan Daum discusses various commencement addresses and says that:
... the real "get" of the graduation season was First Lady Michelle Obama.