Las Vegas Sun

Barack Obama’s campaign philosophy suggested that we, as a nation, ought to focus on the ideas that unite us, rather than those few divisive issues that politicians and pundits often dwell upon. Before we understood the full weight of our looming financial implosion, he suggested that partisan bickering and posturing for cameras and constituents had kept us from tackling critical issues. So, if we are to abandon the collapse for a moment, what do we, exactly, agree upon?

Past Dupont Circle, where a week ago Friday people threw their shoes at a giant, inflatable George Bush; where all weekend it felt like rush hour, as bodies moved in mass, smiling ever so softly, laughing ever so easily, as if it were a holiday season past, as if there were a bit of opiate in the water.

In a cab with an Ethiopian driver, who observes, "I've never seen this. Regular people never go to inauguration. That's for the rich."

This is a very different war from the one Israel waged in Lebanon during summer 2006; a war that Israel, by almost all measures, lost.

Today Hezbollah is better armed and further entrenched, and has greater prestige in the Sunni world than before the campaign. But Hezbollah had the critical capacity to rearm -- quickly. And it also had the capacity to orchestrate the rebuilding of Southern Lebanon.

Sixty-six years ago was an equally unsettling time in this country. Standing in this very spot, a slender man, barely able to stand on his own, told us that we had “nothing to fear but fear itself.” He would go on to become a great president. Today, my fellow Americans, we have more to fear.

Over the past eight years, many have suggested that President George W. Bush’s arrogance lies at the root of his failed policies. His resolve that we simply “stay the course,” without adjustment or alteration -- as Iraq descended into a brutal civil war -- being the most noteworthy example. Ironically, I wonder whether that same unrelenting confidence -- stripped of the stubbornness -- is exactly what is required to keep America from economic collapse.

A lot of conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks have centered on the American decline, not in terms of global influence and economic standing, but in terms of journalism. I’ve found myself speaking with students of the field, freelance writers and grayed reporters, all of us solemnly reflecting, as if a good friend had died.

"I was inspired by Jack Kennedy," a high school teacher replied when I asked what had moved him to join the Peace Corps and work in Cameroon.

A grand, Kennedy-esque call to service flittered throughout Barack Obama's campaign, but never took firm ground. I'm concerned it might never solidify; that nascent campaign ideas, and a critical component of the Obama campaign strategy, may not come to fruition once he takes office.

...Sherle R. Scwhenninger, director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation, said the housing market urgently needs help.

“Right now, for Nevada and the country, it’s probably more important to have a package that could help stem or provide a softer landing to the housing market,” he said.

“There’s clearly real pain,” Scwhenninger said. “It’s a great moment to get some housing relief out there to stem the downward spiral and the recessionary pressure it creates...” LINK

English-Only Rule on Bus Relaxed; Compromise seen as model for dealing with immigration (Las Vegas Sun)

...To Tomas Jimenez, an Irvine fellow at the New America Foundation who studies immigration and assimilation, the policies, ordinances and laws seen across the nation are “all partially motivated by people who are disgruntled by a change in culture.” ...

As the partisan narratives emerge in Washington, Sherle Schwenninger at the New American Foundation, a Washington think tank, says they won’t work because the national downturn is more than a temporary blip. Schwenninger thinks the economy needs to be weaned from its dependence on consumer spending in favor of government infrastructure projects that could grow the economy. He is pushing to give cash to the states to modernize airports,… more