A Couple Days of Successful Negotiations, G-8in't you Glad to See Me?

Maureen Dowd
Kathleen Parker
Dana Milbank
Mark Ambinder


"Can we stop pretending that Palin is interested in anything other than her own ambition?" - Kathleen Parker

"Conservatives trumpet, and liberals pooh-pooh" - Mark Ambinder


It's always a pleasure to be able to link to Maureen Dowd and Kathleen Parker, two clever and funny ladies in different ways. And, as always, Dana Milbank is a major talent, blending humor along with good explanations of the process that goes on in Washington. Mark Ambinder is from the Atlantic magazine, and writes what happens when your trumpet gets pooh-poohed...

Barack Obam and company have gone on to italy for the G-8 conference, where the emphasis is on economic recovery. David Kramer in Foreign Policy has a good article on what Obama accomplished and what else needs to be accomplished in relations with Russia: "Although Obama's first-day meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev produced eight different joint statements or agreements, it was Obama's second day in Moscow that was more important -- and not just because that is when he met with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, still Russia's most influential political figure. No, the second day was more important because of the other people with whom Obama met: Russian civil society representatives, opposition leaders, and students at the New Economic School (NES). In sitting down with staunch Kremlin critics, including Garry Kasparov and Boris Nemtsov, and civil society activists, including noted human rights defender Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Obama underscored his interest in resetting relations not just with the Russian government but with the Russian people and society.

The second day was also more important because of Obama's speech at the NES, in which he clearly articulated his vision for a more democratic Russia, but did so in a way that shouldn't be deemed as meddling. Citing the importance of rule of law, freedom of speech and assembly, and independent media, Obama touched on areas where Russian developments have been most disturbing. The U.S. president was equally clear in rejecting Russia's claim to a sphere of influence along its borders. "The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over," he said. Returning to this theme later in his remarks, he said he supported Ukraine's and Georgia's prospects for NATO membership, if that is what their populations want. Vice President Joseph Biden's visit to both countries in two weeks will reinforce this message."

Obama's and Medvedev's style of negotiations have been pretty successful, accomplishing more in two days  than the previous eight years of attempted negotiations. The only glitch was that Russian television didn't bother to carry his address to the Russian people, or translate it into Russian. There are 3 state controlled stations, one did carry the speech, the others showed reruns...

I hadn't realized that the first time that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran, there were rumors of vote-rigging and fraud. They were never investigated in the interests of "national unity." So the shenanigans of this election is just business as usual for Mr Ahmadinejad. Of course, he's touting the elections as the freest in the Middle East; compared to every other country they were pretty free, too bad its the results of the election that are being contested... The NY Times has a current analysis of the situation: "The streets of Iran have been largely silenced, but a power struggle grinds on behind the scenes, this time over the very nature of the state itself. It is a battle that transcends the immediate conflict over the presidential election, one that began 30 years ago as the Islamic Revolution established a new form of government that sought to blend theocracy and a measure of democracy.

From the beginning, both have vied for an upper hand, and today both are tarnished. In postelection Iran, there is growing unease among many of the nation’s political and clerical elite that the very system of governance they rely on for power and privilege has been stripped of its religious and electoral legitimacy, creating a virtual dictatorship enforced by an emboldened security apparatus, analysts said." 

Mr Ahmadinejad also has a spiritual advisor, who's like the James Dobson of Iran, but a lot more fascist in his outlook: " Mr. Ahmadinejad’s spiritual adviser, Ayatollah Muhammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, has said elected institutions are anathema to a religious government and should be no more than window dressing." So, a military dictatorship with puppet clerics is a divinely inspired form of Islam? I think they are praying to Attila the Hun instead...

Not to be outdone, Hillary Clinton scored her own coup, getting the two sides of Honduras to sit down and try to negotiate some kind of structure that can satisfy both parties: "The ousted president of Honduras and the leader who has succeeded him in the nation’s de facto government agreed Tuesday for the first time to negotiate a resolution to the political crisis polarizing their country.

At the end of her first meeting with the deposed Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the talks would be led by President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who is considered one of the region’s most accomplished statesmen." This will be a challenge for Mr Arias, but there may be nobody better suited to the task, a good use of local resources. A good few days for sanity after the last weeks of craziness... 


late night jokes:

"President Obama is in Russia. And we know this because Sarah Palin says she can see him from her house." --David Letterman

"There was a surprising announcement over the weekend. Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin is leaving office. She's stepping down. Something I said?" --David Letterman, referring to his feud with Palin

"But a lot of public figures do this. And I've tried to do it. Doesn't work. You blame the media. When you have trouble, you blame the media. And today, as a matter of fact, she was up in a helicopter, shooting Wolf Blitzer." --David Letterman

"But I was talking to a lady here in the audience who's from Alaska. And we were wondering about this. How does a thing like this work? Because she steps down and no longer the governor of Alaska. And we figured it out, the title now is -- Miss Congeniality steps up, I think, -- is now the governor of Alaska. I think so." --David Letterman

"Everybody have a nice, happy Fourth of July? We took Mom to see the fireworks. I thought it was going to be a lot of fun. Every time, a big one goes off, my mom screams, 'It's North Korea! It's North Korea! Run!'" --David Letterman

"How about that North Korea? Over the weekend, launched seven missiles, and Joe Biden, the Vice President, says that they're just trying to get attention. Well, that should calm things down." --David Letterman

"Mark Sanford described his girlfriend as his 'soulmate.' And I thought, well, if there is one thing that beautiful women love, it's a fiscal conservative, am I right?" --David Letterman

"But Governor Mark Sanford didn't really enjoy this year's Fourth of July. He left his favorite firecracker in Argentina." --David Letterman

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, here's something very exciting. President Obama is in Russia although he told his staff he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail." --David Letterman

"But he's over there. He's talking about getting some major concessions from the Russians. And Russia has agreed -- now, this is surprising -- they agreed now to produce fewer nuclear warheads and more hot tennis babes." --David Letterman

"President Obama right now is in Russia. Yeah, Obama went there because from Russia, you can actually see Sarah Palin cleaning out her office in Alaska." --Conan O'Brien

"Over the weekend, Sarah Palin shocked the country by resigning as governor of Alaska. Out of nowhere. It's crazy. She resigned. Yeah, Republicans aren't sure who is going to fill her role in the party. But they are in talks with several of the Real Housewives of New Jersey." --Conan O'Brien

"In her resignation speech, Sarah Palin said she polled her children on whether she should resign and the count was unanimous. Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, even her children thought she was in over her head." --Conan O'Brien

"South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford returned to work today after spending a holiday weekend in Florida with his wife and children. Yeah. Or as Sanford called the weekend, 'a total waste of time.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Speaking of political sex scandals, there's a rumor that former presidential candidate John Edwards made a sex tape with his mistress. It's true. Yeah, sources say the tape starts off with 45 minutes of John Edwards running his fingers through his own hair." --Conan O'Brien

"Of course, the very big news, you can't avoid it, Sarah Palin's quitting as governor of Alaska. Everybody is shocked. Palin hasn't made a decision this controversial since deciding whether to wear her hair up or down." --Craig Ferguson

"Don't worry about the state of Alaska. They'll be fine. According to the state constitution, the job automatically goes to the lieutenant governor, Chilly Willy." --Craig Ferguson