Analysis: GOP, Dems using wars to define Obama

clipped from news.aol.com Democrat Barack Obama wants to prove he's ready to be a wartime commander in chief. Republican John McCain hopes to sell the idea that his rival is not. The return of Iraq and Afghanistan to the forefront of the presidential campaign illustrates how both sides increasingly seem to view the race as largely a referendum on Obama, a first-term Illinois senator trying to become the first black president. "I will end this war as president," Obama said of Iraq and promised anew that he would redirect U.S. efforts to Afghanistan. The likely Democratic nominee struck a stately pose Tuesday as he delivered a lengthy foreign policy address ahead of an upcoming overseas trip. He spoke from a podium that said "Judgment to Lead" set up before an array of American flags.

Was Jimmy Carter an energy prophet?

As I listen to President Bush suggesting that Americans turn down their thermostat and use less gasoline I have to ask myself, Was Jimmy Carter a prophet??

Most people don't know it but Jimmy Carter wanted to set a goal of obtaining 20 percent of our energy from solar power by the year 2000.

clipped from www.ajc.com Can we now acknowledge that Jimmy Carter was right all those years ago? Americans, who hate to be told they must change, roundly condemned Carter's memorable "Crisis of Confidence" speech of July 15, 1979. In it, Carter outlined a program for achieving energy independence: "On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny." He was right in seeking to raise the fleet auto mileage standard to 48 miles per gallon by 1995. (Even U.S. automakers admitted at the time that they could easily achieve 30 mpg by 1985.) Carter was right in exhorting Americans to turn down their thermostats, even if he did look nerdy in a cardigan while urging us to do so. In his July 1979 speech, he was right when he said, "I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 —- never." That worthy goal quickly went by the board.

Obama Wants Tax Credit for Small Firms Offering Coverage

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Barack Obama shed some new light on his health-care proposals this weekend, suggesting a $6 billion-a-year plan to offer tax credits to small businesses offering health insurance to employees. Our Washington Wire blog notes that Hillary Clinton had made a similar proposal for small businesses, whose problems providing health insurance are among the biggest hurdles to universal coverage. The big annual Kaiser Family Foundation survey on employee health benefits found that 59% of firms with 3-199 workers offered health benefits in 2007, compared with 99% of firms with 200 or more workers. The issue was more dire for firms with 3-9 employees, where 45% offered coverage.

National Policy Discussion on Diagnosing Early-Stage Alzheimer's

clipped from abcnews.go.com WATCH: The Bottom Line on the '08 Race

Obama on Clark: This is more like it.

A good concise post from the Daily Kos.

clipped from www.dailykos.com Via Ben Smith at Politico: "I guess my question is why, given all the vast numbers of things that we’ve got to work on, that that would be a top priority of mine?" Obama said, responding to a reporter who asked the candidate why he hadn’t called on Wesley Clark to apologize for his remarks yesterday. "I’m happy to have all sorts of conversations about how we deal with Iraq and what happens with Iran, but the fact that somebody on a cable show or on a news show like Gen. Clark said something that was inartful about Sen. McCain I don’t think is probably the thing that is keeping Ohioans up at night."

Deal lets U.S. drones strike bin Laden

clipped from www.washingtontimes.com The United States has a standing agreement with Pakistan that CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Osama bin Laden's hide-out without prior permission from Islamabad, according to people familiar with the arrangement.

Measuring McCain And Obama's Bipartisan Efforts

clipped from www.npr.org If there's one thing the two presidential candidates have in common, it's that they claim to be leaders in creating a new kind of politics. Listen Now [7 min 35 sec] add to playlist