18 March 2012

Two from Jeffrey Goldberg on Obama

I know there are a lot of "simply" readers who aren't crazy about Obama, not only am I not one of them, neither is Goldberg. Frankly, Obama is preferable to any available Republican for all matters (except possibly Israel - that's an argument for another day), and these two pieces show why. The first is Goldberg's take on the Netanyahu/Obama relationship (which he calls a "partnership", not too sure about it being that close). Goldberg's convinced that it's for Israel's good. But given his take on I/P and the US, he would, wouldn't he?

The second piece is far more joky: Goldberg's own title is "Obama is such a traditional Jew, sometimes). Still, it makes a change from forever having to chew one's nails about what happens next.

By Brian Goldfarb.

7 comments:

Adamlevick said...

Hi there. You say:  Obama is preferable to any available Republican for all
matters (except possibly Israel). While I agree the Israel question (and how he handled the 'Arab Spring') is a much longer discussion, based on Obama's economic performance alone, I'm not clear how you can say that he's preferable to all the Republican candidates. Anyway...just some food for thought. 


http://www.cfr.org/geoeconomics/quarterly-update-economic-recovery-historical-context/p25774?cid=ppc-Google-CGS-chart_book-recovery-economic_recovery&gclid=CKXO-pK08K4CFQdG3wodWzo-JQ 

Jackhamertash said...

Obama inherited an economic "situation". the only serious complaint about his performance is that he works no miracles and does not practice magic. Regarding the way he's handling Israel - too soft since he lost Emanuel and Axelrod.

Brian Goldfarb said...

Adam, do you really think that either of Santorum, Romney or Gingrich will solve the US economic situation? They are in thrall to the right of the Republican Party in general and to the Tea Party in particular, neither of which is in any pragmatic about the situation: their only solution is to cut taxes, overturn the health reforms and...that's about it. 

Neat article in November's Vanity Fair by Simon Johnson & James Kwak at http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/11/debt-and-dumb-201111.

SnoopyTheGoon said...

In my humble opinion neither Democrats nor Republicans could (or want) to change the current policy of government spending. Only a true libertarian government could. However, there are no takers for that position, aside of you know who, who is too barmy for any government post.

Adamlevick said...

Hi Brian, the answer to who will  handle the economy better is, of course, hard to determine. But, let me ask you: why are low tax, less gov't domestic policies, in your view, unworthy of consideration. More broadly, a lot of Americans don't want to go the route of the statist European model. Now, reasonable people can argue with conservative economic principles, bit I feel its at least worthy of debate. 

Brian Goldfarb said...

Adam, because US Republicans (or at least most of the still standing runners in the race) and the Tea Party folks want lower taxes and higher levels of service.

Doesn't, and can't , work that way, as the UK Coalition is finding out, fast.

David All said...

Obama is definitely the most Jewish non-Jewish President the US has ever had. After all he was head of the Harvard Law Review and changed his first name from Barry to Barack, which definitely sounds Israeli-like.