The Reaction in review (June 5, 2009)

By Carol Gee

A week's Reactions that deserve a second look:

Friday

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Reflections on Obama's Cairo Speech" -- Michael summarizes it so well: "This, perhaps, is the essence of the "Obama Doctrine": a pragmatic approach to the realization of idealistic but fully realizable goals; an emphasis on what unites us, not what divides us; toleration of and respect for others; an attempt to build bridges across cultures and forge lasting connections to sustain a lasting peace; an understanding that we're all in this together, no matter who we are, no matter where we live, no matter what god or gods we do or do not pray to."


Thursday

By Carl: "Obama's defining moment" -- Carl's insight into the tremendous implications of President Obama's Cairo speech is very well worth reading.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "What will Pawlenty do?" -- This post lays out Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's dilemma about whether to certify Al Franken's senatorial victory, given his announcement that he will not seek re-election in 2010 (see June 3 post).

By Hamid M. Khan: "A time to take sides" -- This great guest post, by a Truman Project fellow, challenges President Obama to "take sides in the struggle for the soul of Islam by not only elevating America's image in the Islamic world, but, more importantly, by elevating Islam's image of itself."


Wednesday

By J. Thomas Duffy: "Hey Morning Joke, Cheetos are made by a successful unionized company!" -- Duffy exposes "Morning Joe" Scarborough's failure to understand that his employer is a thoroughly unionized GE.

By J. Kingston Pierce: "There they go again" -- Our co-blogger has posted a wonderfully link-rich piece regarding the statue of Ronald Reagan coming into the Capitol's Statuary Hall, displacing Thomas Starr King's likeness to Sacramento.

By Carol Gee: "Leadership on both sides of the road" -- This post examines instances of sanity and bipartisanship in the current moderate Republican mix, contrasted with the more widespread Republican paranoia.

By Boatboy: "Owning the Hatred" -- Boatboy, in his very fine essay, thoughtfully explores the GWoT excesses as the "terrorist" label is perhaps used inappropriately to describe the killer of Dr. George Tiller.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Out of touch: Conservatives eager to ramp up the fight against Sotomayor" -- Michael lays out the disconnect between the zealotry of unelected Republicans regarding Judge Sotomayor vs. the more measured criticism from Republican senators.


Tuesday

By Carl: "The hypocrisy clown car" -- Carl cleverly unravels the right wing media's silly criticism of the Obamas' New York date night.

By Mustang Bobby: "Judicial activism" -- Bobby effectively argues that the Supreme Court's so-called activism comes as a response to a litigious society, and should not be "cured" with limiting the terms of appointment.

By Capt. Fogg: "que has dicho?" -- Fogg looks at a Sotomayor cartoon by Danziger and remains mystified.


Monday

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Dick Cheney comes out in support of same-sex marriage. Seriously." -- Michael thoughtfully gives "credit where credit is due" to former Vice President Cheney. . . "because he has so much credibility and support in the party and within the conservative movement already, but he could have remained silent on the issue, continuing, if only silently, to approve of Republican/conservative opposition to same-sex marriage."

By Creature: "GM" -- Creature's tightly written perspective rightly credits the Obama administration for doing the best it could with the awful situation of automakers GM and Chrysler.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Spinning and smearing: The New York Times and the right-wing assault on Sonia Sotomayor" -- Michael rightly concludes, "The New York Times should be ashamed of itself," for a couple of clearly biased Sotomayor articles (by David Kirkpatrick and Peter Baker).

(Cross-posted at Behind the Links.)