Hillary’s Planning a ‘Greek Drama’ for Denver | Newsweek Voices - Jonathan Alter

Tough Talk
Jason McLure 8/5/2009 12:00:00 AM
President Obama got lots of attention last month for his drop-in visit to Ghana after the G20 meeting in Italy, where he blasted African leaders for misruling the continent and condemning its people to poverty and backwardness. "Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty," said Obama. "No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end."
Travel Advisory
Katie Paul 8/5/2009 12:00:00 AM
A single scene in the movie Dave, a political comedy about an imposter in the White House, probably does the best job of summing up most American political trips to Africa. In his first appearance, halfway through the movie, a dour-looking Ben Kingsley, playing the vice president, appears in the Oval Office bearing fertility beads from Togo and a giant hat from the people of Burundi. He had been sent on an extended tour through the continent by a president determined to strip him of all power and influence. "They know hats in Burundi," the president responds. Africa is a punch line. It may be a place where do-gooders can make a difference; it's just not where the big dogs make their mark.
W. Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Jacob Weisberg 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Politicians, like generals, suffer from a tendency to fight the last war. Having meticulously studied the mistakes of their predecessors, they take care to avoid repeating them and make the opposite ones. They fortify Maginot Lines. They overcompensate for past errors. They overcorrect.
Obama’s LBJ Moment
Eleanor Clift 7/10/2009 12:00:00 AM
His poll numbers may be sinking, but six months into his presidency, Barack Obama retains the admiration and the trust of voters. To be sure, they're not as admiring of his policies. The attacks from critics about unsustainable debt and big government have taken their toll. Voters question whether his policies will work, and the legions of progressives who backed him wonder whether he has what it takes to work his will on Capitol Hill.
‘Not an Isolated Incident’
Melinda Liu 6/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
On May 17 about 50 elderly parents gathered in a private home for a memorial service to mourn their children who'd died in the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protestors. One notable absentee was 73-year-old Ding Zilin, founder of the Tiananmen Mothers organization, who'd been slated to deliver a memorial speech. Friends said authorities were severely restricting her movements until after the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square bloodshed. Recent phone calls to Ding went unanswered, but in late April, NEWSWEEK's Melinda Liu visited Ding in her Beijing apartment, where she still keeps a small shrine to her late son. Excerpts:
THE NEXT 100 DAYS
Here Comes Hillary
Michael Hirsh 4/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
Thanks to the global financial crisis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has enjoyed something of a grace period over these first 100 days of the Obama administration. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has garnered most of the attention—and nearly all the criticism. That's about to end. Now that the fog of economic catastrophe seems to be lifting—if barely—the outlines of a fairly grim foreign-policy landscape are becoming visible. And it is very likely that Clinton and her boss will be more occupied with the challenges abroad in the next 100 days than with the recession and crisis at home.