It’s hard to read this analysis without concluding that Putin will take military action in Ukraine. He reportedly does not think Obama is the sort to fight back in any significant way. Of course, if Obama were truly cynical and 100% political, he might conclude that a confrontation in Ukraine would be just the thing to distract from the Obamacare rollout — and maybe even cause a rallying around the flag — in time for the mid-term elections. Obama isn’t so cynical. But does Putin know that?
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The Surge: Obama gives executive “deferred action” amnesty to young illegal immigrants (“DREAMers”) and suddenly there’s a surge of young illegals from Central America crossing the border. So weird! It’s almost as if the two events are somehow connected. …
P.S.; Even the amnestyphilic L.A. Times concedes that “[c]hanges in U.S. policy to expand legal residence opportunities in the U.S. for undocumented youth … may have led some families to send younger family members on the journey north.” Immigrant advocates portray all the new entrants as victims of drug cartel violence, etc., of course, but the motives reported by the Times are more varied–the unaccompanied kids come here “for a better life” and “to get an education,” the same as other immigrants. Since it’s also clear from the Times article that they’re not about to get sent back home, it’s hard to argue their decision wasn’t rational ….
P.P.S.: I was drawn into the immigration debate because the BS dogma of “reform” advocates –e.g. that amnesty won’t act as a magnet for more illegal immigration — seemed so similar to the BS dogma of liberal welfare advocates (e.g. that generous welfare benefits don’t encourage more women to wind up on welfare). Of course amnesty acts as a magnet. Would-be illegals would be fools not to notice if the previous generation of illegals got to stay legally. That’s why (unless you want open borders) amnesty has to be preceded by steps to make sure the border is strong enough to deter the surge of illegal crossings it is certain to attract. …
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Vox Media was in L.A. with a mobile hiring booth!
P.S.: I didn’t realize that Vox (now the home of Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, Dylan Matthews, Sarah Kliff and others) was co-founded by the clairvoyant Jerome Armstrong, famous for his authoritative exculpation of John Edwards in the Rielle Hunter case. … At least it has solid journalistic roots.
P.P.S.: I am bracing myself for Klein to succeed. He has plenty of energy, as do his hires, and he’s getting better. (This was one of several valuable posts he ripped off on his way out the door at WaPo.) His team’s business plan probably won’t survive initial contact with the Internet, but they will do whatever is necessary to make it work. … I’m less confident in WaPo‘s rebuilding of Wonkblog. Does Post editor Martin Baron realize that Wonkblog was popular, not because of the occasional excellent post but because its default position was to offer easy reassurance to Democrats that everything was OK in Obamaworld? Do it in a more professional manner, in keeping with traditional Post standards, and it will not satisfy its readership’s need for ready affirmation. Wonkblog will still get a more hits than Brookings Review. … but it’ll be close. …
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Call Dylan! Reliability of GM’s comeback, make-or-break volume seller — the Chevy Cruze — has sunk to much “worse than average” in latest Consumer Reports data. Sorry, Megan! … The big losers in the survey, though, are Ford (which has zero (0) cars with better-than-average reliability) and Nissan (its new Altima and Pathfinder are “well below average”) …
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Walter Shapiro takes up arms against the “dysfunctional Washington” theory that has achieved something like ideological hegemony in … Washington. He suggests it’s not the fault of our government’s”structural problems” if Obama “bet his presidency on the Affordable Care Act,” assumed it would be popular, and then lost his control of Congress when it wasn’t. … The risk, remember, was clear at the time.
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