"The turnabout came early on, with agitators like talk radio host Rush Limbaugh declaring that he hoped Obama would fail as President. This was followed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's pronouncement that his number one goal in the Congress was to ensure that the President was defeated. Then came the birth of the angry Tea Party with its wild suggestions of Obama's "foreign birth" and allegations that his health care reform program would include "death panels" that would condemn senior citizens to an early demise."

"What is so distressing in all of this is the degree to which the Republicans have failed to learn the lessons of Bush's failures. Not understanding how deep is the hole dug by the Bush Administration's recklessness, Republicans keep pushing Obama to pursue policies that would dig that hole deeper still."

"For there to be peace between Israelis and Palestinians, America must change. This will not come easily. There will be more of the proverbial "gnashing of teeth" and complaints that the "Palestinians are pursuing a dangerous course" or "forcing us to do this or that". In reality, however, all that we are being forced to do is come to grips with our own failure and face up to what is increasingly becoming the reason behind our self-imposed isolation."

"...all sides must be wary of allowing this situation to continue. As gruesome as it has been to watch unarmed demonstrators being shot in the streets, it can get much worse. What is especially worrisome now is the concern that with disaffected members of the Syrian military and other protesting dissidents resorting to violence, the conflict could further escalate into an all-out civil war that could cause the current body count to grow by multiples of ten or more. The consequences could be grave, and not only for Syria and Syrians, but for the entire region."

"The lesson here is clear. Victory doesn't come easy and it doesn't go to the side with the best ideas, or even to the one that expresses its ideas best, the most frequently, or to the largest audience. Whether in a small city or a big country, change will only come through organization and ability to mobilize people to press for change."

"The Internet is a threat to corporate power, and therefore newspapers, as corporate properties, cannot accept the need to adapt. Mendacity, not technology, lies behind the fall of newspapers." -- Professor Joseph Howe

"Riding high, the Republicans are looking to 2012, but find their field of presidential aspirants to be weak. In the mix of available candidates, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appears to be the "inevitable" nominee. He is, to be sure, no "Reagan". The religious right doesn't see him as one of their own, and other wings of the party also appear to lack confidence in his conservative credentials. And so while the Republican "establishment" has now settled on Romney as the safe "known commodity", currents that represent large swatches of the party faithful keep looking for an alternative."

"Republicans want nothing more than to defeat President Obama and retake control of government.  In fact, from the earliest days of the Obama Administration they made clear their intent to block his every move and ultimately defeat him in 2012. As a result, Washington has become even more polarized than the deeply divided electorate, with the GOP-led Congress refusing to compromise with Democrats and the White House, creating all too frequent crises that have repeatedly threatened to shut down government."