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- Hillary Clinton's appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today did not produce much in the way of friction, and by Tim's reading of the hearing, doesn't shed any additional light on what an Obama foreign policy will actually look like (indeed, it complicates the matter). On the other hand, Steve Benen is impressed by Clinton's description of "smart power" as a rhetorical shift from the problematic "soft power" of previous administrations and sees it as a progressive step forward. Finally, James Goldgeier argues that there are big political benefits to be gained by Democrats if and when a viable progressive foreign policy catches on with the public's perception of how the parties handle foreign affairs.
- Confirmation hearings for Steven Chu and Arne Duncan proceeded in a similarly undramatic fashion, and Politico reports that Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy is lining up a bipartisan coalition of supporters for Eric Holder's nomination to head off Arlen Specter's dreams of stealing the spotlight. Faring less well is Timothy Geithner, who according to early reports might have been involved in evading Social Security or Medicare taxes and employing an undocumented housekeeper. But as Ben Smith reports, this is hardly coming out of the blue, and the Obama transition team is already way ahead of the curve on this one.
- Barack Obama announced more administration picks, including William Corr for deputy HHS secretary, Julius Genachowski for FCC chair, and retaining Gen. Douglas Lute as war czar.
- The good: Obama will reverse a number of Bush's executive orders pertaining to torture and detention policies enacted in the name of the war on terror, and, on the economic front, has reversed on his proposed $3,000-per-job business tax credit. The bad: there still remain two bad stimulus proposals on the table.
- While it would undoubtedly be better for the country if Sarah Palin could go back to being a regional instead of a national politician meriting national coverage, it is instructive to remind ourselves that this woman is the GOP base personified, and her inability to even recognize when the "biased media" is defending her is just one more reason to acknowledge she is dangerously unsuited for public office.
- Capitalizing on a so-called "Obama effect," Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek has thrown his hat into the ring for Florida's up-for-grabs Senate seat in 2010. Meanwhile in Ohio, Rob Portman is officially in the running for the Senate vacancy provided by retiring Republican George Voinovich.
- Tom Davis breaks with the traditional "we need to be more conservative to save the GOP" essay and accurately surmises that "this call to return to our 'roots' really is a call to do nothing. And doing nothing, I hope Republicans will agree, is not an option." He even channels a real conservative, Edmund Burke, by observing that "the first principle of conservatism is not tax cuts or free trade or even smaller government. It is prudence, and prudence should be our guide." Of course, "prudence" isn't a strategy for electoral success, but at least he's willing to devalue (by a degree) the dogma that has paralyzed the GOP.
- I was shocked, shocked, when John Sides demonstrated to me that the professional news commentariat couldn't accurately describe trends in voter turnout if their lives depended on it. Is it really that hard to read a data table or look at a chart and come away with the right conclusions?
- Recommended reading: Garrett Epps in The Atlantic on "The Founders’ Great Mistake."
--Mori Dinauer
