Rebutting a Newsweek Story on Obama | Newsweek Politics: Conventions

INTERNATIONAL
No End of Free Trade
12/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
Early in 2008, Democratic congressional leaders put a hold on trade deals the Bush administration had negotiated with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. In the presidential campaign that played out the rest of the year, leading Democratic candidates and the party's ultimate winner, President-elect Barack Obama, pledged to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as part of an overall bid to restore "fair trade" principles to such deals, including greater labor and environmental protections. In the electoral season's final months, the country plunged into a financial crisis, by some indications further deepening the misgivings Americans were expressing about globalization and free trade. The mood has aroused concerns among some economists about a shift toward protectionism at a time when most economists say open markets are vital for economic revival. Some analysts, however, see an opportunity for trade advances in the new administration. They note the Democratic Party's support for the Doha multilateral trade round and say the new team of political leaders might be better positioned to reform trade policy and promote free trade.
POLITICS
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary Of State Nominee
12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
Hillary Clinton's selection to serve as Barack Obama's secretary of State follows her strong race for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination against him. Clinton was among a number of top national security officials named by Obama on December 1. Obama said he would nominate Robert M. Gates to remain as defense secretary, and nominated Gen. James L. Jones, a retired Marine commandant, for national security adviser, Eric H. Holder Jr. for attorney general, Susan Rice as ambassador the UN, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for homeland security secretary.
LISTENING IN
Oral Exam
8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM
It was an important historical moment ... a moment that helped heal some of our nation's deepest and oldest wounds, a moment for all Americans to be proud of the great but still partial progress of our country. But it was not a historic speech. It was, in fact, very much as advertised: "workmanlike." The setting invited comparisons to JFK. The anniversary invited comparisons to Martin Luther King, Jr. The stage invited comparisons to Zeus. But Obama delivered a political stump speech. Not a bad speech, just a small one—designed for focus groups, not for history. Not ineffective, just unmemorable.
CAMPAIGN 2008
The Meaning of a Milestone
Ellis Cose 6/5/2008 12:00:00 AM
It all began with a speech at the Democratic National Convention during which a political newcomer named Barack Obama introduced himself as "a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him." It was July 2004, and that was so very long ago. Since then Obama has convincingly shown that America is more than willing to carve out a place for him. Along the way he has rewritten the book on campaign financing and fostered hope for a new brand of American politics.
THE LAST WORD
The Final Repudiation
George F. Will
In a Presidential contest replete with novelties, none was more significant than this: A candidate's campaign—for his party's nomination, then for the presidency—was itself virtually the entire validation of his candidacy. Voters have endorsed Barack Obama's audacious—but not, they have said, presumptuous—proposition, which was: The skill, tenacity, strategic vision and tactical nimbleness of my campaign is proof that I am presidential timber.
PERSPECTIVES
Quotes From the Week of 11/10/08