The Hollywood Liberal

On foreign policy, Obama and the GOP find room for agreement
Unnoticed amid the wailing about “broken government,” a broad bipartisan consensus is emerging in one unlikely area: foreign policy. On Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran — the most expensive and potentially dangerous foreign challenges facing the United States — little separates the Obama administration from most Republican leaders in and out of Congress. A substantial majority of Republicans has supported President Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan. Both the administration and the Republican opposition are committed to a stable, increasingly democratic Iraq. On Iran, differences have narrowed as engagement gives way to pressure on what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls the “military dictatorship” in Tehran. And Republicans have to admit that Obama’s prolonged effort at engagement accomplished what George W. Bush never could: convincing most of the world, including most Democrats, that Iran does not want any deal that threatens its nuclear weapons program. Partisan divisiveness will return only if the administration backs down from its own stated objectives.

Obama risks alienating Latinos with lack of immigration reform
I have known Barack Obama since 1986, when we were both community organizers. I am still organizing on the streets of Chicago, and what I see in the Latino community makes me fear that the president is oblivious to the pain wrought by our broken immigration system. It could have a profound effect on the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Over Turkish protests, House panel calls killing of Armenians ‘genocide’
A congressional committee voted Thursday to label as “genocide” the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians, shrugging off a last-minute warning from Obama administration officials that it would alienate Turkey, a key U.S. ally.

U.S. criticized on Iran sanctions
The Obama administration is pushing to carve out an exemption for China and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council from legislation pending in the Senate and the House that would tighten sanctions on companies doing business in Iran, administration and congressional sources said.

Obama Rebuilding Trust With Pakistan
David Ignatius, Washington Post

We Must Do Whatever It Takes to Pass Bill
Rep. John Dingell, Detroit News
The newest incarnation of federal health insurance reform will be bipartisan in terms of ideas, but it unfortunately looks doubtful we will have bipartisan support. That said, there is little debate about the course of our current health insurance system — we can't afford the status quo. Warren Buffett has said that, as have the chief executive officers of the Business Roundtable. Companies can't cover health care expenses — which is why we see downsizing, stagnation and shrinking benefits. AdvertisementFamilies can't handle the costs — and as a result we are seeing more…

The Democrats’ Choice on Health Care