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A Project of the Institute for America's Future

08 | 21 | 08

RICK PERLSTEIN
A Liberal Shock Doctrine

Progressive political change in American history is rarely incremental. With important exceptions, most of the reforms that have advanced our nation's status as a modern, liberalizing social democracy were pushed through during narrow windows of progressive opportunity — which subsequently slammed shut with the work not yet complete. The Oval Office's most effective inhabitants have always understood this. Does Barack Obama? Here's what history suggests is the right approach to get dramatic change out of Washington. Join the discussion.

Pentagon, White House Clash on Georgia Aid

mcclatchydc.com — The Pentagon and the White House are at odds over whether to station a U.S. Navy ship in the Black Sea to demonstrate U.S. support towards an embattled Georgian military and government, two defense officials said. The White House believes putting a ship like the USNS Comfort would showcase the Bush administration's support for Georgia and signal U.S. concern that Russia has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Georgia. Pentagon officials call the move unnecessary.

Wholesale Prices Jump

nytimes.com — Wholesale prices rose at a higher annual rate last month than they had in 27 years, making it more difficult for businesses to maintain profit margins as consumer spending declines. The 1.2 percent rise in wholesale prices, reported by the Labor Department, was well above economists' expectations and the latest report showing a sharp rise in inflation in July. That puts American businesses and consumers, along with central bankers, in an increasingly difficult situation. Businesses can raise retail prices and risk losing customers who are already squeezed by the downturn. Or they can eat the cost of more expensive goods and lose profits.

Home Builds Lowest Since 1991

time.com — Construction of homes and apartments fell in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, the government reported Tuesday. The Commerce Department said that builders broke ground on 965,000 housing units on an annualized basis. That was down from a pace of 1.08 million in June and the weakest showing since March 1991. The latest housing figures continue to show a badly battered housing market. The report showed that construction of single-family homes in July fell by 2.9 percent from the previous month to a pace of 641,000. That was the lowest since January 1991, when the economy also was in distress.

Companies Bid on Offshore Oil Leases

usatoday.com — The Interior Department received 423 bids from 47 companies to explore a swath of the Gulf of Mexico off Texas. The bids cover 319 of the 3,412 tracts the federal government put up for lease, or about 10 percent of the 18 million acres available. The preliminary results of the lease sale underscore the problems politicians face in arguing for more domestic drilling to ease high energy prices: Making more land available does not necessarily mean it will be drilled. Also, most offers — 237 — were for 10-year terms, an extended timetable that will have little impact on gasoline prices now.

Fewer Holiday Passengers Predicted

reuters.com — Major U.S. airlines will see a 6 percent drop in passengers during the eight-day Labor Day holiday period as high oil prices continue to roil the industry, the airlines' trade organization predicted. The Air Transport Association of America said that although fuel prices have declined in recent weeks, jet fuel has averaged $160.47 a barrel this summer, 79 percent higher than last summer's price. To survive, airlines have been making big cuts in routes, staff and capacity, as well as raising fares and introducing fees for checked bags and other services.

Court: EPA Rule Illegal

hosted.ap.org — A Bush administration rule barring states and local governments from requiring more air pollution monitoring is illegal, a federal appeals court ruled. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a two-year-old rule that may have allowed some refineries, power plants and factories to exceed pollution limits because the Environmental Protection Agency "failed to fix inadequate monitoring requirements ? and prohibited states and local authorities from doing so."

Sallie Mae Spent $640K Lobbying

money.cnn.com — Sallie Mae, the nation's largest student lender, spent $640,000 lobbying in the second quarter for government help to shore up the troubled student loan market and on legislation related to other issues affecting the industry, according to a recent disclosure report. The company lobbied on access to capital for student lenders and a variety of legislation touching on student lending, education spending and banking. Congress sets the interest rates borrowers pay and the subsidy levels lenders receive under the federal student loan program. Lawmakers last year cut about $20 billion in federal subsidies to lenders to pay for increases in student aid. That cut into lenders' profits, as did the credit crunch, making it expensive to raise the capital they need to offer student loans.

U.S. Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks

cnn.com — The next large-scale military or terrorist attack on the United States, if and when it happens, may not involve airplanes or bombs or even intruders breaching American borders. Internet security experts believe that a cyber attack by hackers half a world away could be just as devastating to the U.S. economy and infrastructure as a deadly bombing. Experts say the attack on the republic of Georgia, in which a Russian military offensive was preceded by an Internet assault that overwhelmed Georgian government Web sites, signals a new kind of cyberwar, one for which the United States is not fully prepared.

MICHAEL WINSHIP
The Limits of American Power

consortiumnews.com — The fighting between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia is an unnerving reminder of "with how little wisdom the world is governed," and of how quickly the balance of global power can be tilted from unexpected directions with barely a warning.

CHRIS FARRELL
Health Care: The Real Fiscal Nightmare

businessweek.com — While policy wonks slug it out over McCain and Obama's tax plans, a far bigger problem looms: rampaging medical costs.

DAVID ROBERTS
Rubinomics at the National Clean Energy Summit

gristmill.grist.org — During his keynote address, Robert Rubin lamented climate change. During the Q & A he had to answer for Citibank's contribution to it.

JON RYNN
Globalization Death Watch

gristmill.grist.org — If we have any hope of transforming our economy from one that is dependent on greenhouse gas-spewing fossil fuels, industrial agriculture, and inefficient transportation systems, then we will have to embark on a gargantuan program in order to construct all of the green energy infrastructure that we can. To do that we have to be wealthy. But at the rate we're going, we won't be, and poor nations can't import lots of good stuff from abroad.

KERRY TRUEMAN
The Dead Zone Diet

openleft.com — Enjoy your dithering over dining choices while you can, folks, because the day is coming when you may not have the luxury of choosing the lobster over the London broil. For those with a more populist palate, I've got some bad news, too; a future with no more fried clam strips or canned tuna, for you.

NICHOLAS VON HOFFMAN
The 2008 Student Loan Blues

thenation.com — When students get loans this year, they will pay more for them. In at least some cases students are looking at rates of 23 percent. With those numbers a young person might be better off borrowing from the mafia.

STEPHEN CROCKETT
Being Stupid, Sounding Strong

consortiumnews.com — When you start "being stupid" in your public rhetoric by "talking tough" before thinking through the situation, you almost always fail to achieve your foreign policy goals.

PAUL WALDMAN
It's Not About the Medals

prospect.org — The Olympics remind us of the real reason why all of us should be proud of our country — diversity.

BILL SCHER
Conservatives Don't Believe In Energy Independence. Just Ask 'Em.

In recent posts, I've shown that conservative talk of an "All of the Above" energy policy flies in the face of repeated conservative actions to defeat anything that significantly invests in clean energy and forces Big Oil to compete. Today, conservative media hero John Stossel further conveys the true core conservative belief, in a column titled: "The Idiocy of Energy Independence." The column is an excellent case of conservative illogic at its finest.

RICK PERLSTEIN
The McGovern Mystery

Last week the talk of our progressive blogosphere, and with good reason, was the Wall Street Journal editorial by 1972 Democratic nominee George McGovern, the Pope of Principled Liberalism, arguing the right-wing line on the Employee Free Choice Act, liberals' most promising strategy in a generation to make joining a union easier and more fair. What was McGovern up to?

Perlstein on the Rocks, Part I , Part II, Part III

Be it resolved: all book interviews should take place in bars.

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Obstruction and Deception
All the most responsible longitudinal polling demonstrates increasingly strong majorities favoring a progressive governing agenda—so conservatives rely on a strategy of legislative obstructionism and deception to thwart the will of the people.

more talking points >>

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