News for November 14
November 14, 2008 by Barbara
Filed under News and Analysis
Secretary of State Clinton?
News outlets reported Thursday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is in the running to be President-elect Obama’s Secretary of State. Politico and Crooks and Liars consider what would happen if Clinton took the job, while FiveThirtyEight looks back at the campaign that never was: What if Clinton had won the Democratic nomination? Links include:
Politico | “About a year ago we were gaming possible successors for Hillary Rodham Clinton if she was elected president. Now it’s time to spin the wheel again on the Secretary of State thing. (Any appointment would last only until a 2010 special election.) … Here’s our improvised list of potential successors, with their pluses and minus, in no particular order.”
Crooks and Liars | “The Obama camp sure is leaking a lot of names out there these days. They are called trial balloons. … This one is very interesting indeed. (Clinton’s) certainly qualified for the job and it certainly would freak out the freepers.”
FiveThirtyEight | “If America had woken up last Tuesday morning and magically found Hillary Clinton’s name on the ballot in lieu of Barack Obama, might she have won by 11 points? Perhaps. She certainly proved herself to be an exceptionally compelling candidate, even if her execution and staffing decisions were sometimes wanting.”
- Related link: Who Will Replace Obama in the Senate? | The American Prospect
- Related link: (Small) Milestone for Women in Politics | Tapped
How Now Brown Cloud
USA Today and the New York Times have reported that “atmospheric brown clouds” are covering a stretch of the globe from Dubai to Shanghai. The cloud of smog, soot and toxic chemicals are causing health problems and could be mitigating the effects of climate change in some places while making them worse in others. Informed Consent and Foreign Policy Passport both have the United Nations Environmental Program’s report, plus commentary. Links include:
Informed Consent | “And then they say that petroleum is “cheaper” than solar energy! Is anyone figuring in the cost of the atmospheric brown clouds? How many billions of dollars are they costing in higher food prices and extreme climate events?”
Foreign Policy Passport | “Interstingly, the report (pdf), put together by the United Nations Environment Program, says that the “atmospheric brown clouds” (ABCs) could be mitigating the impact of climate change on a global basis by as much as 80 percent, though they are in some places amplifying the impacts of greenhouse gases and on the whole are a Very Bad Thing.”
Obama Transition Team Staffs Up Internet Outreach Crew | TPM Election Central
The Obama transition team has just signed up two leading Web types for the transition’s Internet outreach team, a welcome indication that the Obama team is moving to transfer its astonishing online successes during the campaign over to the world of governing.
Time’s Up: The Minutemen Turn on Each Other | The New Republic
This was supposed to have been a good year for Gilchrist and his Minutemen–not one where their guns were drawn on one another. … (But) in this environment, Gilchrist’s movement is falling apart, overtaken by new members whom he describes as “troublemakers with personality disorders and criminal propensities.” In contrast, he insists that the group’s original members were able to give voice to the immigration concerns of ordinary Americans because they demonstrated “a passionate allegiance to the United States of America and its priceless principles.”
Why the Same-Sex Marriage Debate Still Matters | altMuslim
Many Muslims may be receptive to concerns about civil liberties, but feel that they would be compromising their Islamic principles by voting against a ban on same-sex marriage. This need not be the case.
Barbara Schwartz is the editorial director at the Xenia Institute. She lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., and currently is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa.
