The Commentariat -- March 23

Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love.
-- William Butler Yeats, from "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," cited by a Libyan Foreign Ministry official to the four captured New York Times journalists

New York Times journalists Anthony Shadid, Lynsey Addario, Stephen Farrell & Tyler Hicks describe their brutal days in Libyan captivity "under the protection of the state." ...

... Ben Smith: how Reagan (brilliantly) handled Congress (& why Sen. Dick Lugar supported Reagan's plan to assassinate Gaddafi but is not supporting Obama's more limited goals) From an e-mail to Politico by Mark Helmke, an advisor to Lugar:

Reagan was much different than Obama. Reagan invited the bipartisan leadership to the White House – Lugar as SFRC Chair – and told them planes were on their way to Libya for the sole mission of taking out Gadhafi, because of the intelligence that he had personally ordered the murder on a US soldier at a Berlin bar. Reagan said if anyone objected, he would order the planes turned around. No one, including Byrd, objected. ...

... Massimo Calabresi of Time: President "Obama is interpreting U.N. resolution 1973, which authorized the intervention, to stop short of green-lighting Gaddafi's removal. He believes it only allows military action to protect civilians. Therefore, he explained yesterday, 'when it comes to our military action, we are doing so in support of U.N. Security Resolution 1973. That specifically talks about humanitarian efforts. And we are going to make sure that we stick to that mandate.' ... The administration will have to defend the ideas guiding this war: that the power to prevent atrocities is important and that ... there are limits on how our troops use force abroad. Indeed the only way the administration can defend the specific limits it is choosing to adhere to in Libya is by defending the ideas behind them." ...

... Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times: "An American pilot and a weapons officer were safely rescued in Libya on Tuesday after their warplane crashed near Benghazi, but the United States Marine Corps dropped two 500-pound bombs during the recovery and faced questions about whether Marines had fired on villagers." ...

... Secretary Clinton speaks to ABC News' Diane Sawyer about the U.N. resolution:

... Huma Kahn of ABC News: "People close to Libya's embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi are reaching out to allies around the world exploring their 'options,' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told ABC News' Diane Sawyer today, and the U.S. government has gotten unconfirmed reports that at least one of Gadhafi's sons has been killed." ...

... Gene Robinson: "Anyone looking for principle and logic in the attack on Moammar Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime will be disappointed. President Obama and his advisers should acknowledge the obvious truth: They are reacting to the revolutionary fervor in the Arab world with the arbitrary 'realism' that is a superpower’s prerogative."

... Glenn Greenwald rants against the various hypocrises perpetrated by advocates for the action against Gaddafi. ...

... Dana Milbank: whether deserved or not, President Obama falls victim to "the tyranny of the news cycle," not to mention the comedy routines of Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & that Alaska woman, who have traded in their "Obama is a tyrant" for "Obama is a weakling." ...

... John Dickerson of Slate: "The GOP's cartoon image of President Obama is that he's slow, indecisive, and deferential to foreigners, so there is much snickering in the Republican ranks over the president's Libya policy. He allowed the French—the French!—to lead the international campaign against Qaddafi.... As a specific foreign policy critique, though, the political upside of these Republican attacks is small.... There's no Republican challenger whose foreign policy credentials are so sterling that this moment provides a rationale for their candidacy." ...

... Hear, Hear! Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic "on the idiocy of framing the Libya intervention as a battle of the sexes." For some of the idiocy, see Maureen Dowd. CW: my comment on Dowd is here (#2).

... David Roberts in Grist: Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) wades into the fog of "hesitant, incoherent, poll-driven mishmash. In other words, vintage Democratic messaging" to tell an inconvenient truth: "We become less vulnerable by using less oil." You can read Bingaman's full speech here.

Norihiko Shirouzu & Peter Landers of the Wall Street Journal: "Japanese regulators discussed in recent months the use of new cooling technologies at nuclear plants that could have lessened or prevented the disaster that struck this month when a tsunami wiped out the electricity at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power facility. However, they chose to ignore the vulnerability at existing reactors and instead focused on fixing the issue in future ones, government and corporate documents show."

CW: I missed this New York Times op-ed by history Prof. William Cronon of the University of Wisconsin -- Madison, but Cronon does a nice job of showing how out-of-step with the history of his progressive state and of his own party Gov. Scott Walker really is. Cronon see in Walker shades of the odious Joe McCarthy: "their aggressiveness, their self-certainty, their seeming indifference to contrary views -- that may help explain the extreme partisan reactions they triggered."

Laugh du Jour. Reader Diane F. sent me word of the publication by The University of Chicago Magazine of contest results for David Brooks parodies. Brooks himself picked the winners & introduces them with quite a funny commentary of his own. The winner really captures Brooks. I'm not sure if the runners-up do. But then Brooks is not too good at seeing himself as others see him, & he probably missed the parodies that did him real justice. If only Driftglass had entered (but how likely is it that David Fucking Brooks would choose an obscenity-laced version of Himself?).

Right Wing World

The Amnesiac. Justin Elliott of Salon: in an interview with CBS News, Sen. John McCain forgets his own ovations to Moammar Gaddafi (made just two years ago) & boasts about arming the mujahedeen in Afghanistan, among them Osama bin Laden, in the 1980s. Of course McCain didn't mention bin Laden by name. (Maybe he forgot.) Includes video. ...

... Jason Linkins weighs in with a post titled "John McCain was in favor of supplying military aid to Gaddafi before he was for supplying military aid to the forces looking to topple Gaddafi."

CNN Correspondent Nic Robertson goes off on Fox "News":

     ... Steve Benen comments, "Here's hoping Steve Harrigan [the Fox 'News reporter'] was able to watch the exchange from his comfortable hotel room."

... Benen gets a kick out of Tim Pawlenty's "overwrought, overdramatic" exploratory kickoff video:

     ... BUT Benen kind of wishes we had been treated to Pawlenty's fake Southern accent. From a New York Times story:

... at the Statehouse, the talk among several Republicans was that it seemed he had suddenly developed a Southern accent as he tried connecting to voters by speaking louder and with more energy.

The political blog of Radio Iowa heard it too and noted, 'Pawlenty seems to be adopting a Southern accent as he talks about his record as governor.' As he spoke of the country’s challenges, he dropped the letter G, saying: 'It ain’t gonna be easy. This is about plowin’ ahead and gettin’ the job done.'

... Right Wing World is of Course White Wing World. Chris Good of The Atlantic says of the Pawlenty production: "Alongside the many caucasian handshakes, minorities appear a total of three or four times. (Pawlenty greets one man who looks possibly Latino.) A camera pans by a smiling Asian girl (0:45) and an African-American family standing on a front porch (1:05). As a Democratic source points out, both clips come from [stock] Getty Images."

Mitt Romney simultaneously supports the attack on Libyan but not President Obama's handling of it. Greg Sargent calls Romney's pretzel "the comically phony Tea Party pander of the day." Romney's take "is so canned and riddled with buzzwords designed to pander to the right wing base that it feels like he subjected his language to a dozen Tea Party focus groups before daring to open his mouth.... He somehow manages to slip in references to Obama’s alleged non-belief in American exceptionalism and his alleged apologizing for America (neither of which exist in the real world) before wrapping up with an absurdly heavy-handed suggestion that Arabs are dictating American foreign policy."

Family Values: Rand Paul Vows Not to Run for President against His Father. BUT. Stephanie Condon & Brian Montopoli of CBS News: "Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, fresh off his Tea Party-backed 2010 Senate victory, is traveling to various key primary states to test the waters for a potential presidential bid. The only sure thing that would keep him out of the race would be his father's [Rep. Ron Paul's] candidacy." CW: "The I-Can't-Handle-Rachel-Maddow-but-I'm-Smart-Enough-to-Be-President candidacy."

News Ledes

AFP: "Three journalists who were arrested in Libya last weekend by forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi arrived in Tunisia on Wednesday after being released overnight. Dave Clark and Roberto Schmidt, who work for Agence France-Presse, and Joe Raedle from Getty Images crossed the border at Ras Ajdir shortly after noon and were driving to Tunis, the capital, about 370 miles to the north. They were released early on Wednesday morning after an appeal by Agence France-Presse." ...

... New York Times: in a letter to President Obama, "the House speaker, John A. Boehner, on Wednesday pressed President Obama to clarify what the administration hoped to achieve through military intervention in Libya, as top Senate Democrats defended the president’s handling of the crisis." ...

... New York Times: "President Obama worked to bridge differences among allies about how to manage the military campaign in Libya, as airstrikes continued to rock Tripoli early on Wednesday. Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, however, showed no sign of ending their sieges of rebel-held cities as the international effort to contain them entered its fifth day." ...

... Washington Post: "Four days of allied strikes have battered Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s air force and largely destroyed his long-range air defense systems, a top U.S. commander said Tuesday. But there was little evidence that the attacks had stopped regime forces from killing civilians or shifted the balance of power in favor of the rebels."

Reuters: "Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said on Wednesday he has submitted his resignation to the president after parliament earlier rejected his minority Socialist government's latest austerity measures in a vote."

New York Times: "An Army soldier facing a court-martial here on Wednesday admitted to killing three Afghan civilians as part of a conspiracy to kill for sport. 'The plan was to kill people, sir,' the soldier, Specialist Jeremy N. Morlock, told a military judge at this base south of Seattle."

Haaretz: "A bomb exploded Wednesday at a crowded bus stop outside the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, just opposite the central bus station. A 59-year-old woman was killed and at least 30 people were wounded in the incident, three of them seriously."

Washington Post: "Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Tuesday threatened government opponents with civil war and appealed to them to begin a national dialogue in conflicting statements that did not stop calls for his immediate resignation." ...

Washington Post: "The State Department announced Tuesday that it will give $20 million to Tunisia to help build its new democracy, boosting to more than $170 million the total in assistance for Arab countries that recently overthrew authoritarian leaders."

AP: "New violence in a restive southern Syrian city [of Daraa] killed as many as six people Wednesday, making it the deadliest single day since anti-government protests inspired by uprisings across the Arab world reached this country last week, an activist said."

Reuters: "Japan estimated the cost of the damage from its devastating earthquake and tsunami could top $300 billion.... As concern grew over the risk to food safety of radiation from the damaged Fukushima power plant, 250 km (150 miles) north of the Japanese capital, the United States became the first nation to block some food imports from the disaster zone." ...

... AP: "A spike in radiation levels in Tokyo tap water spurred new fears about food safety Wednesday as rising black smoke forced another evacuation of workers trying to stabilize Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear plant."

New York Times: Google's "plan to digitize every book ever published and make them widely available was derailed on Tuesday when a federal judge in New York rejected a sweeping $125 million legal settlement the company had worked out with groups representing authors and publishers.... Citing copyright, antitrust and other concerns, Judge Denny Chin said that the settlement went too far. He said it would have granted Google a “de facto monopoly” and the right to profit from books without the permission of copyright owners."

The Commentariat -- March 22

** Do You Know What Your Congress Is Doing? CW: while we're arguing about Libya, Republicans are planning the deaths of American children. Suzy Khimm of Mother Jones: "Republicans in Congress have proposed slashing millions in federal funding for immunization programs. Public health advocates warn that these cuts threaten efforts across the country to prevent and contain infectious and sometimes fatal diseases. And they add that lower vaccination rates could eventually result in more outbreaks that endanger public health at a major cost to taxpayers." ...

... Tim Fernholtz of the National Journal: "The House Agriculture Committee endorsed a letter this week to Budget Chairman Paul Ryan arguing that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps low-income Americans purchase food, would make a better target for cuts than automatic subsidies to farms.... The Agriculture Committee is dominated by members of Congress from farm states; Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., has reported $445,714 in political contributions from the agricultural industry during the course of his career, and ranking Democrat Collin Peterson of Minnesota reports $809,097 in career donations. The budget letter, endorsed by both Lucas and Peterson, argues that subsidies need to be in place for when record-high prices 'inevitably' fall." CW: I forget how many members of Congress get farm subsidies, but it's a bunch; some of the welfare recipients -- Michele Bachmann, Chuck Grassley & Max Baucus. Who cares about hungry people?

This I Did Not Know. Damien Paletta of the Wall Street Journal: the Social Security Disability Insurance fund "is set to soon become the first big federal benefit program to run out of cash — and one of the main reasons is U.S. states and territories have a large say in who qualifies for the federally funded program. Without changes, the Social Security retirement fund can survive intact through about 2040 and Medicare through 2029. The disability fund, however, will run dry in four to seven years without federal intervention, government auditors say." CW: this article is firewalled & I can't link through. However, you can read it via Google.

The New York Times Editors endorse the enforcement of the no-flight zone over Libya, but they add a lot of "yeah-buts." ...

... What's the Rebels' Goal? Democracy or Tribal Ascendancy? David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times: "The behavior of the fledgling rebel government in Benghazi so far offers few clues to the rebels’ true nature. Their governing council is composed of secular-minded professionals — lawyers, academics, businesspeople — who talk about democracy, transparency, human rights and the rule of law. But their commitment to those principles is just now being tested as they confront the specter of potential Qaddafi spies in their midst, either with rough tribal justice or a more measured legal process." ...

Philip Ewing of Politico: "Even as [President] Obama wants to protect Libyan rebels from forces loyal to Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi, the president also wants to avoid putting the United States into another situation – the third in a decade – in which America would be responsible for rebuilding a Muslim nation it has attacked and decapitated. So even though Obama reiterated his call Monday that Qadhafi 'needs to go,' he said America is not authorized to target him under the conditions of the international agreement under which it’s operating."

** Stephen Walt of Foreign Policy: "The only important intellectual difference between neoconservatives and liberal interventionists is that the former have disdain for international institutions (which they see as constraints on U.S. power), and the latter see them as a useful way to legitimate American dominance." CW: a very interesting read.

... Dave Weigel argues in Slate that President Obama didn't consult Congress on the strike against Libya because most of the Congress didn't want him to. See Monday, March 21 News Ledes for links to the President's belated notification to Congress. ...

... Although the White House claims the President had the authority to commit to the Libyan effort, John Nichols of The Nation, for one, disagrees: "Anyone who takes the Constitution seriously should have a problem with the fact that, once again, the United States is involved in a war that has neither been debated nor declared by the Congress of the United States." ...

... BUT, as Thom Hartman points out, the Congress was busy. "John Boehner instead chose to debate defunding NPR and Planned Parenthood, leaving the decision to President Obama." ...

... Laura Rozen of Yahoo News: "President Barack Obama, speaking in Santiago, Chile on Monday, defended his decision to order U.S. strikes against Libyan military targets, and insisted that the mission is clear.... Obama insisted that the United States' lead military role will be turned over — "in days, not weeks" — to an international command of which the United States will be just one part. The only problem: None of the countries in the international coalition can yet agree on to whom or how the United States should hand off responsibilities."

Hiroko Tabuchi, et al., of the New York Times: "Just a month before a powerful earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant at the center of Japan’s nuclear crisis, government regulators approved a 10-year extension for the oldest of the six reactors at the power station despite warnings about its safety."

Prof. Michael Niman, writing in Buffalo's ArtVoice wonders, "why are we vilifying union members for successfully defending a right we should all enjoy?" -- i.e., a decent healthcare plan. "Why don’t we all fight to have the same healthcare as Teamsters have? ... Rather than being duped into vilifying those of us who are still holding on to the American dream, join us. Rather than being tricked into organizing against us, organize with us. We are you. Unionize everybody! Thanks to reader Peter S. for the link. ...

... Why, even conservative Stanley Fish has come around to supporting unions in the academic wing of the world.

Ben Bernanke now must finally understand that this money doesn’t belong to the Federal Reserve, it belongs to the American people and the American people have a right to know how their taxpayer dollars are being put at risk. -- Sen. Bernie Sanders ...

... Neil Irwin of Bloomberg News: "A Supreme Court order that forces unprecedented disclosures from the Federal Reserve ended a two- year legal battle that helped shape the public’s perceptions of the U.S. central bank. The high court yesterday let stand a lower-court ruling compelling the Fed to reveal the names of banks that borrowed money at the so-called discount window during the credit crisis. The records were requested by Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. In July, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank law, which mandated the release of other Fed bailout details." ...

... Matt Yglesias in Democracy on the Fed: "The idea of a central bank that’s 'independent' of day-to-day politics is a good one, but too often that’s come to mean a central bank that’s immune from criticism or meaningful supervision. The Federal Reserve System’s current vague mandate needs to be replaced with a specific target, defined in law.... Progressives need to start caring about the Fed and engaging in the debate over what it does."

If you hear the latest story coming from the right -- that, really, our tax structure is more progressive than are those of European countries, you'll want to read Kevin Drum's brief analysis.

Andrew Romano of Newsweek on the consequences of Americans' ignorance about our system of government. Thirty-eight percent of us can't pass the citizenship test. The article links to a test which allows you to check your own knowledge. CW: fair warnings -- (a) this is one of those annoying click-thru tests that takes forever, which is why I didn't link it directly; (b) the people who wrote the test may not be as smart as you are. Several answers, according to scholars, are wrong. (I found another wrong answer the linked article doesn't mention; there are probably more.) ...

... Steve Benen: "... uninformed and easily-fooled voters have a severely limited working understanding of current events, but at the same time, have enormous power over the nation's future.... When voters are ignorant, candidates are more likely to lie, confident in their ability to get away with it. When the electorate is disengaged, policymakers feel less pressure to exercise good judgment, knowing they can just pull the wool over the public's eyes later.... Our political system -- and the country overall -- relies on a certain level of sophistication among the public, and there's ample evidence that we're just not at that level. In human history, it's never been easier to get -- and stay -- well informed. Folks just have to take some responsibility."

... Matt Yglesias: "What doesn’t seem sustainable to me is the system we’ve been evolving toward in which a legislative minority is able to block action and then reap the rewards of any policy failure that results. This feature of our institutional set-up, much more than public ignorance, threatens to wreck the “market” for sound public policy."

"Claire Air." David Catanese of Politico: "Sen. Claire McCaskill is selling the personal plane that has caused her turbulence in recent weeks after Politico revealed she used taxpayer money to cover the cost of political travel. The first-term Democrat said she was very happy she was able to convince her husband to 'sell the damn plane.' In a conference call Monday afternoon, McCaskill revealed that after her own review of the plane's records, she had not paid personal property taxes on the aircraft over the past four years." The Republican Senatorial Committee cut a pretty damning video:

... Michael Shear of the New York Times: "... Senate Democrats can’t afford to make any mistakes. Which makes the scandal in Missouri over Senator Claire McCaskill’s private plane the kind of unforced error that could come back to haunt the national party in the days after the 2012 election."

Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times profiles Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour who is considering a run for president. CW: I'm linking this story because I feel I must -- it's one of the most popular articles on the Times site.

Ain't It Always the Way. Jenna Wortham of the New York Times: "The $39 billion proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile could save the companies a lot of money. For everyone else, it could cost a lot of money. No sooner did the two companies announce a $39 billion merger on Sunday than industry analysts began assessing the impact on the biggest potential losers in the deal: consumers."

Right Wing World

Ginni Gets A(nother) Job. Brian Beutler of TPM: "Ginni Thomas, the tea party leader, health care reform foe, and controversial wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will join The Daily Caller as a reporter." CW: in case you're not familiar with the Daily Caller -- and why would you be? -- it's Tucker Carlson's smarmy site, which most recently has been happy to promote James O'Keefe's video-editing adventures. Thanks to Jeanne B. for the heads-up.

Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce, the prime mover of the state's draconian anti-illegal-immigration laws, has taken "Tentherism" -- a right-wing premise that the Tenth Amendment makes most federal laws unconstitutional -- to a new level. Zaid Jilani of Think Progress reports that Pearce said in a speech to enthusiastic teabaggers:

Do you know, you’re not a citizen of the United States. You’re a citizen of a sovereign state. The fifty sovereign states makes up United States of America, we’re citizens of those sovereign states. It is not a delegated authority. It’s an inherent authority that states have over the federal government.It’s about time somebody gets it right!

     ... Jilani suggests Pearce actually read the Constitution -- like the Fourteenth Amendment (which Pearce really, really hates) that reads, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." Or he could read Article VI, which states, "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof ... shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby...."

"Stuff Happens." I hate Keyboard Cat, but I'll have to admit this iteration of KC playing off Dick Cheney -- sent to me by reader Doug R. -- is pretty good from start to finish. And it's kinda amazing, isn't it, to see sycophant John King actually question Cheney. I can only surmise King accepted Cheney's two-word "explanation":

News Ledes

AP: "South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a law Tuesday requiring women to wait three days after meeting with a doctor to have an abortion, the longest waiting period in the nation. Abortion rights groups immediately said they plan to file a lawsuit challenging the measure, which also requires women to undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortions."

Politico: "President Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that the joint military operation under way in Libya to protect civilians could continue as long Col. Muammar Qadhafi remains in control in Tripoli, but the president also insisted that the U.S. contribution to keep the Libyan dictator’s regime in check would be limited." Video here. ...

... The audio sucks & the embed code is defective, but Jay Carney & Ben Rhodes' pushback against criticism that the Obama Administration didn't consult Congress on the Libyan action is worth hearing. Here's the link to the video. ...

... New York Times: "An American F-15E fighter jet crashed in Libya overnight and one crew member has been recovered while the other is “in the process of recovery,” according to a spokesman for the American military’s Africa Command and a British reporter who saw the wreckage. The crash was likely caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire, the spokesman, Vince Crawley, told Reuters. Details of the incident remained sparse. The crash was the first known setback for the international coalition...." ...

     ... AP Update: "A U.S. official says both the crew of an F-15 fighter jet that crashed in Libya are safe and back in American hands."

New York Times: "President Ali Abdullah Saleh indicated that he would accept an opposition proposal to plan his early departure from office, a government official said, as the Yemeni leader and opposition figures that now include one of the country’s senior military commanders.... Mr. Saleh appeared willing to shift ground after a wave of high-level officials, including the senior commander, Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar, an important tribal leader and a half-dozen ambassadors abandoned him and threw their support behind protesters calling for his ouster. Previously he had offered only to leave by 2013."

AP: "Workers reconnected power lines to all six reactor units at Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear plant Tuesday, its operator said, marking a significant step in bringing the overheated complex under control."

Supremes Blink. Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Monday turned down the Republican National Committee’s latest attempt to knock out long-standing campaign finance restrictions. Without comment, the justices rejected a challenge from the RNC and former Louisiana congressman Anh 'Joseph' Cao that sought to end federal restrictions on how much a political party can spend in direct coordination with a candidate. Cao lost a reelection bid in 2010. The RNC said the restrictions violate the party’s First Amendment rights, a claim that was turned aside by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit."

Washington Post: "A day after AT&T announced it would buy T-Mobile USA to create the biggest wireless carrier in the country, consumer advocates and some members of Congress blasted the deal, arguing the $39 billion merger would lead to higher prices and fewer choices for cellphone users."

Haaretz: "Former President of the State of Israel Moshe Katsav was sentenced to seven years in jail Tuesday, for after he had previously been found guilty of rape and other sexual offenses. The court also ruled that Katsav must also serve two years of probation and pay NIS 100,000 to his rape victim, a former employee of the Tourism Ministry known as A., and to pay NIS 25,000 to L., a former employee of the President's Residence, whom he had sexually harrased and abused."

AP: "The leader of Portugal's main opposition party says the minority government's downfall is 'inevitable' after it failed to win political support for its latest plan to cut the country's huge debt burden. Portugal is trying to avoid becoming the latest of the 17 eurozone countries to need a bailout.... But all opposition parties have balked at the Socialist government's new austerity measures, which are expected to be rejected by Parliament even though European leaders praised them."

The Commentariat -- March 21

Michael Wald of the New York Times: William Borchardt, "a top official with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Monday that the nuclear crisis in Japan did not warrant any immediate changes in American nuclear plants."

Helene Cooper & David Sanger of the New York Times ask what the "coalition"'s objective is, "Is it merely to protect the Libyan population from the government, or is it intended to fulfill President Obama’s objective declared two weeks ago that Colonel Qaddafi 'must leave'?" ...

... Mark Ambinder of the National Journal has one answer: the bombings are "the first phase of what will become Barack Obama's first new war. By directing the military to hit targets inside Libya, the Obama administration is trying to strike an incredibly delicate balance between a strong disinclination to invade a Muslim country and their determined desire to avoid looking like they’re walking away from the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents. ...

... Justin Elliott of Salon has another: "... it's quickly becoming clear that the bombing campaign [against Libya] -- at least so far -- is almost entirely an American operation, albeit one that has been packaged to give it an international look. It's a dissonance that brings back memories of George W. Bush's much-mocked 'coalition of the willing.'" Here's NBC Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski making the same point:

... AND Karen DeYoung & Peter Finn of the Washington Post write, "The prominent role played by the United States in carrying out and commanding the initial coalition attacks on Libya appeared to extend far beyond President Obama’s description of a narrow mission in which U.S. forces would play only a supporting part.... Administration officials and military leaders came under a barrage of questions — raised by members of Congress, outside experts and reporters — about the parameters of U.S. participation and the operation’s goals, especially if Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi does not capitulate." ...

... John Bresnahan & Jonathan Allen of Politico: "A hard-core group of liberal House Democrats is questioning the constitutionality of U.S. missile strikes against Libya, with one lawmaker [Dennis Kucinich] raising the prospect of impeachment during a Democratic Caucus conference call on Saturday." ...

... Josh Marshall of TPM explains why the war on Libya is "just a bad, bad idea." ...

... AND when John Boehner sounds like a voice of reason, it's difficult not to worry.

... AND there's this:

... Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "... President Obama on Sunday all but invited the young population of Iran to throw off the government there in a Web address transmitted to the region, adding, 'I am with you.'”

Meanwhile, on the Home Front ...

Washingtonian Deficit Obsession. Is It a Disease? I missed this story Friday, but President Obama, who had other things on his mind Friday, probably didn't read it, either. Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "More than 60 senators from both parties are calling on President Obama to lead them in developing a comprehensive plan to rein in record budget deficits, a powerful sign of bipartisan willingness to abandon long-held positions on entitlement spending and taxes." Here's the letter. ...

... Damien Paletta of the Wall Street Journal: "The idea of putting Social Security into play has triggered a firestorm of opposition from several corners of the Democratic party. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), two of the Senate's most powerful lawmakers, have said revisions to Social Security shouldn't be attached to a deficit-reduction plan."

Paul Krugman: "By the sheer craziness of their attacks on [Elizabeth] Warren, however, Republicans are offering the administration a perfect opportunity to revive the debate over financial reform, not to mention highlighting exactly who’s really in Wall Street’s pocket these days. And that’s an opportunity the White House should welcome."

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: new Republican governors like Wisconsin's Scott Walker throw a monkeywrench into the Affordable Care Law. Until Walker took over, Wisconsin was a model for how a state could effectively implement the law governing health insurance; now Wisconsin is a morass.

Job Openings:

     ... Hayley Tsukayama of the Washington Post: "Even before he’s out as Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt is reportedly on the short list to be President Obama’s next Commerce Secretary."

     ... Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times: "The American taxpayer will lose a rare straight shooter when Neil M. Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program [TARP], leaves his post on March 30. In his frequent testimony before Congress and in the nine quarterly reports and 13 audits his office has published, Mr. Barofsky has served taxpayers well by speaking truth to the powers at the Treasury."

Spy Story. Sam Roberts: "Morton Sobell, who was convicted with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1951 in an espionage conspiracy case and finally admitted nearly six decades later that he had been a Soviet spy, now says he helped copy hundreds of pages of secret Air Force documents stolen from a Columbia University professor’s safe in 1948.

Local News

New York Times photo.Sam Roberts of the New York Times on the grid that made New York. "Two hundred years ago on Tuesday, the city’s street commissioners certified the no-frills street matrix that heralded New York’s transformation into the City of Angles — the rigid 90-degree grid that spurred unprecedented development, gave birth to vehicular gridlock and defiant jaywalking, and spawned a new breed of entrepreneurs who would exponentially raise the value of Manhattan’s real estate."

News Ledes

At a press conference in Chile today, President Obama gave an extended answer to a reporter's questions about the attack on Libya:

I Know It Must Be True, Because I Read It in the Daily Mail *: "Colonel Gaddafi suffered a massive personal setback today when one of his sons was allegedly killed in a suicide air mission on his barracks. Khamis, 27, who runs the feared Khamis Brigade that has been prominent in its role of attacking rebel-held areas, is said to have died on Saturday night. A Libyan air force pilot crashed his jet into the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli in a kamikaze attack, Algerian TV reported following an unsubstantiated claim by an anti-Gaddafi media organisation. Khamis is alleged to have died of burns in hospital. The regime denied the reports." ...

... FYI. New York Times: "An American-led military campaign to destroy Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s air defenses and establish a no-fly zone over Libya has nearly accomplished its initial objectives, and the United States is moving swiftly to hand command to allies in Europe, American officials said Monday. But the firepower of more than 130 Tomahawk cruise missiles and attacks by allied warplanes have not yet succeeded in accomplishing the more ambitious demands by the United States — repeated by President Obamain a letter to Congress on Monday — that Colonel Qaddafi withdraw his forces from embattled cities and cease all attacks against civilians." Here's the letter, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times. ...

... Politico: "White House officials argued late Monday that President Obama has the authority to attack Libya without going through Congress, pointing to Bosnia and Haiti as examples in which a president decided to send in American troops." ...

... AP: "A cruise missile blasted Moammar Gadhafi's residential compound in an attack that carried as much symbolism as military effect, and fighter jets destroyed a line of tanks moving on the rebel capital. The U.S. said the international assault would hit any government forces attacking the opposition." The New York Times story is here; they keep updating it, & right now (8 am ET) the story is as confusing as war. ...

... Washington Post: "U.S. and allied warplanes continued pounding Libya’s air defenses Sunday and launched deadly strikes against ground forces as Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi offered no serious military challenge to the establishment of a no-fly zone over his country." ...

... AP: "A U.S.-led coalition has succeeded in scattering and isolating Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi's forces after a weekend of punishing air attacks, Pentagon officials say, and American military authorities are moving to hand control of the operation to other countries."

AP: "An Arizona judge on Monday ordered [Jared Loughner,] the suspect in the January shooting rampage in Tucson, to undergo a mental evaluation at a specialized facility in Missouri as soon as possible.

Der Spiegel (English): "A group of rogue US Army soldiers in Afghanistan killed innocent civilians and then posed with their bodies. On Monday, SPIEGEL published some of the photos -- and the US military responded promptly with an apology. Still, NATO fears that reactions in Afghanistan could be violent." The article includes three photos. CW: I didn't look at them.

Washington Post: "Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty will announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee this afternoon, according to two aides briefed on the decision." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota became the first major Republican to enter the 2012 presidential race, announcing an exploratory committee on Monday that formalizes an ambition that has been steadily building for more than a year."

Washington Post: "Buoyed by U.S. and allied airstrikes that relieved a siege of Benghazi, Libyan rebels launched an offensive early Monday aimed at retaking the strategic city of Ajdabiya, as Western warplanes continued pounding forces loyal to longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi." ...

... New York Times: "The Libyan government released four New York Times journalists on Monday, six days after they were captured while covering the conflict between government and rebel forces in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. They were released into the custody of Turkish diplomats and crossed safely into Tunisia in the late afternoon."

New York Times: "In an apparent erosion of military support for Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, five army commanders on Monday threw their support behind protesters calling for his immediate ouster. The move came a day after Mr. Saleh fired his cabinet following the deaths of at least 45 people killed by government-linked forces on Friday."

AP: "Operators evacuated workers from Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant Monday after gray smoke rose from one of its reactor units, the latest of persistent troubles in stabilizing the radiation-leaking complex. The evacuation brought to a standstill some of the work on restoring the plant's electrical lines and restarting the water pumping systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from overheating and releasing even greater amounts of radiation." New York Times story here. ...

... Washington Post: "The massive earthquake and tsunami that wiped out entire villages in northeast Japan caused up to $235 billion in damages, the World Bank said Monday, making the natural disaster one of the most expensive in modern history. The rebuilding effort could take five years, the bank said in its report, and will cost far more than earthquakes in Haiti last year and Kobe in 1995, as well as Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005 and the tsunami in South Asia in 2004."

Washington Post: "Haiti struggled once more to pull off an orderly election Sunday, as confusion broke out at polls and turnout appeared low, but when the day ended quietly without major violence, election officials and foreign observers called it a success."