Monday punditry.
Mark Halperin:
Quibble all you wish about the dimensions of the stimulus law or the administration of the TARP or the Detroit bailout, but the actions taken were professionally handled, apparently necessary, and, so far, constructive. Strikingly underrated by the Washington press corps are Obama's gains on education policy, including a willingness to confront the education establishment on standards for both teachers and students. Overseas, Obama has snagged an arms reduction deal with Russia, managed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq exactly as he promised, eliminated numerous terrorist leaders through an aggressive targeting operation, and laid the groundwork for dealing with Iran and, perhaps, North Korea.
A surprisingly upbeat article, including on Biden and Emanuel's contributions. All that's missing is an explanation as to why this is good for John McCain. More comments in DJShay's diary.
Fred Hiatt:
Obama can't acknowledge all this. You don't tell allies, whether gay rights groups or India, that they've slipped down your priority list. (That's especially true now, before an election, as immigration, education and energy advocates jockey to go next.) And the best negotiating strategy to get things you want isn't always to show how much you want them.
So we may have to wait until Obama writes his memoirs to discover why he elevated these two goals [health reform and managing Iran's nuclear ambitions]. Was he set on health reform from the start, for instance, or did congressional politics nudge that ahead of, say, coping with climate change?
As a previous President noted, it's hard work.
Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto (Arena):
The response to “What’s the matter with Arizona?” is simple, we lost Governor Janet Napolitano! My home state of Arizona is NOT a “wingnut paradise” rather Arizona is a state that does NOT have a balance of power check. It is no coincidence that extremism set in when Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano stepped down to join the President’s administration.
NY Times:
The agreement among Democrats would combine overlapping proposals on derivatives by the banking and agriculture committees, and it raised the pressure on Senate Republicans, who said that they were still fighting for changes to the bill and planned to block the start of floor debate in a first procedural vote on Monday.
Paul Krugman:
When Goldman Sachs employees bragged about the money they had made by shorting the housing market, it was ugly, but that didn’t amount to wrongdoing.
No, the e-mail messages you should be focusing on are the ones from employees at the credit rating agencies, which bestowed AAA ratings on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of dubious assets, nearly all of which have since turned out to be toxic waste.
Will Durst (Arena):
Hard to feel much sympathy for the Republicans and the sloppy pool of tizzy they high- dived into. Perplexed as how to combat financial regulatory legislation, they are bouncing back and forth between a filibuster and a compromise like a ping- pong ball in a stainless steel shower stall. Their banker buddies have pushed hard to oppose any and all restrictions, placing the GOP in the unenviable position of having to defend Wall Street during an election year. Might want to practice by going to Sea World and rooting for the sharks to eat the dolphins in front of your kids.
Ezra Klein:
The Affordable Care Act's spending and coverage in graphs
As Third Way says: "The actuary’s report shows that the nation will be getting a bigger bang for its health care buck. For a mere two-tenths of one percent more in health care spending, the new health care law will cover most of the uninsured and more Americans will be healthier and living longer because they will be getting treatments like cancer care and heart surgery that had previously been denied them."