On Sunday afternoon, I will be at The Emirates Stadium in London, watching Arsenal v Manchester United in football (“soccer”). Since I am a Tottenham Hotspur fan, so why would I do this?Well, I could watch the game from the comfort of my armchair, rooting against both teams, but nothing beats watching an event live and in person.
I feel the same about Wednesday night’s State of the Union address by President Obama. The BBC television coverage’s was fine, but most of the time, there was no way of knowing who was up and who was down. If only I had been in the Capitol chamber, I could have gotten a better reading of the politics, just by watching the ritual of members of Congress demonstrating their feelings by either standing or remaining firmly seated during the address.
I don‘t know when the tradition of standing and repetitive applauding for the President during the State of the Union started. On this occasion, Congress’s version of aerobics began after Obama’s long, uninterrupted opening. Once members started applauding, they were up and down with considerable frequency as the President took them through his plans for jobs, financial reform, civil rights, nuclear weapons, Iraq and Afghanistan, education, reduction of the deficit, health care, and gays in the military.
Measured through the BBC’s restricted perspective, how did he do? Well, this was a tour de force. Obama is a brilliant speaker but, let’s be blunt, he also compares incredibly well with his predecessor. On this night, Obama was Presidential. Read the rest of this entry »
My kids are no longer kids: my son is 13 and my daughter is 10 going on 18. But, as I am driving, it still happens. First, a sharp one-liner, then a squeal, and a quick escalation to a scuffle and “Dad!”. I just keep my eyes on the road, trying not to notice.
Well, President Obama has given his annual set-piece speech, the Washington pundits have pronounced, and already everyone “in the know” are rubbing hands over the forthcoming showdowns between the White House and Congress over domestic issues. And all the while I’m thinking about this speech….
When it comes to the US beyond Capitol Hill and its borders, President Obama just tried to ignore the kids in the backseat.
That’s far from a shocking response. Obama’s immediate road ahead, for his future and that of the US, is the economy and health care. Having bailed out a leaking ship last year, the Administration now has to show progress on employment; otherwise, the Republicans, even though it was their eight years in the White House that set up the debacle and even though they have put forth no alternatives for the way out of recession, can just keep hammering away at White House failure. As for health care, what should be the overriding issue — an expensive, inefficient US system will continue to leave millions of Americans unprotected — is being replaced by the politics of display: the Obama Administration needs a bill, no matter how watered down, just to show that it is not captive to the blows of the Republican minority in Congress.
Not surprising then that the President only devoted eight out of 60+ minutes to affairs beyond the US. What is more significant, of course, is what was in those eight minutes.
We’ll have “A Gut Reaction to the State of the Union” on Friday. By coincidence, I was on a panel discussing Obama’s first year, in front of an audience rather disappointed with the Administration and the state of “America”, a few hours before it was delivered. Is there any reason to change that disappointment in light of the following?
Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
Our Constitution declares that from time to time, the president shall give to Congress information about the state of our union. For 220 years, our leaders have fulfilled this duty. They have done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility. And they have done so in the midst of war and depression; at moments of great strife and great struggle. Read the rest of this entry »
Iran: Rumours and intrigue continued overnight – the Regime’s propaganda machine has been working overtime it seems – including an offensive racial slur against Obama. And Mehdi Karroubi’s party issued a clear signal yesterday that the fight goes on.
We have our morning report on the live weblog, which appeared initially to quote Karroubi’s son Hossein endorsing Ahmadinejad as Iran’s President ,and then our afternoon snap analysis reconsidering the manoeuvres. But all of this is superseded tonight by an EA special analysis: we think Karroubi has chosen to take on “Mr Khameini” and Ahmadinejad, “the head of the government of the regime”.
USA: EA Correspondent John Matlin gives a tongue in cheek analysis, explaining US politics and Obama’s downfall to Marty the Martian.
Israel: Following yet more reports about Hezbullah’s long-range missile plans in Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, Israel’s Yossi Peled has said another war with the terrorist group was inevitable.
On the Palestinian issue, Israel’s Udi Dekel, who headed the negotiating team during the Ehud Olmert Government, has said he doesn’t believe there is any possibility of an agreement with the Palestinians on all the issues: “especially on the problematic core issues”.
However, on a much more positive note, speaking in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning, after meetings held between Israeli and American representatives on Saturday night, PM Netanyahu said “new and interesting ideas” were raised for the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians. However, he offered no details.
Let us imagine that a Martian, “Marty”, dressing like a stand-up American and with the ability to read and speak English, has landed in Washington, D.C. He reads the politics pages in The Washington Post and scratches his head in wonderment. So he accosts a passer-by, “Kane”, who happens to be astute and neutral on choice of political party.
Marty: Excuse me, sir, but would you mind explaining some things in the newspaper?
Kane: I’ll do my best.
Marty: It says that the President has lost his healthcare legislation because the Democrats have lost a Senate seat. Is the President the loser?
Kane: I think the losers are the more than 30 million Americans who will be denied access to medical insurance if the Bill fails. That said, the legislation is not lost yet. Democrats still hold 59 of 100 seats in the Senate.
There is much they can do to save the bill but special interests have made it a mockery. The state of Nebraska got itself all sorts of exemptions for its senate vote. However, I think there is still all to play for.
After covering his health care proposals and underlining the importance of financial reform, Obama turned to foreign policy. He talked of the “Administration taking out more al-Qaeda high-level operatives”. He admitted that the decision to increased the number of troops in Afghanistan was one of the toughest he had ever made, adding that his Administration is doing a good job in getting troops out of Iraq even though it is not an easy process. On Iran, Obama reiterated the dual-track approach of engagement and sanctions.
Perhaps the most striking Obama reflection, however, was on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process: “The Middle East peace process has not moved forward. And I think it’s fair to say that for all our efforts at early engagement, it is not where I want it to be.”
A day of political chatter, as I find myself with a different view than US-based pundits of both President Obama’s first year in office and of last night’s Republican victory in the special election for US Senator in Massachusetts. Take your pick from BBC World Service (from start, my contribution from 0:11:45), BBC Radio 5 (1:39:20 mark), BBC Radio Wales (2:37:00), or BBC Radio Scotland (0:40:00).
Iran: Leaks abound relating to Iran. Is Washington “genuis punditocracy” putting pressure on Israel relating to nukes and sanctions? EA’s Scott Lucas’ reaction is here : he wonders whether the policy may be “too clever by half” but guest writer Gary Sick praises President Obama’s “strategic leaking”.
We have a guestcommentary from Babak Siavoshy of Georgetown University which defends Mir Houssein Mousavi’s “5-Point Plan”. Meanwhile, five expatriateIranian intellectuals have followed Mousavi’s statement with their own 10-point list of demands from the Iranian Government.
Saeed Habibi from the Committee of Human Rights Reporters is in hiding in Iran. Britain’s C4 News interviewed him last night, see have the video here.
All the latest news is on our timeline blog which also includes links to other stories from EA and other news media.
Israel: There was a hullabuloo in the Channel 1 studio last Thursday when Jamal Zahalka was removed following a heated argument with host Dan Margalit. See the programme video here. Zahalka subsequently accused the state media of “surrendering to the state”.
On Sunday afternoon, I will be at The Emirates Stadium in London, watching Arsenal v Manchester United in football (“soccer”). Since I am a Tottenham Hotspur fan, so why would I do this?Well, I could watch the game from the comfort of my armchair, rooting against both teams, but nothing beats watching an event live and in person.
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