What I'm Reading 5.21.09: Closing Gitmo

Obama defends plan to close Guantanamo Prison. By William Branigin, Washington Post
It's obvious that Guantanamo needs to close. It's closure is a linchpin of foreign relations with countries like Palestine, Pakistan, and Iran. Obama will need a more clear plan for closing the prison including where to place detainees before requesting funds from Congress. Maybe he should be considering U.S. territories like Puerto Rico or Samoa. Very well isolated areas with mostly Christian populations.

Obama-Lite Steele fizzles as Republicans fold. By Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
Steele is an odd figure for a part chair. He spends perhaps a bit too much time in the spotlight and probably carries an inflated opinion of his role. I honestly think that he is trying to be the Republican Obama, but he has so far not been successful in raising money, getting Republicans elected, or growing the party. Carlson's scathing treatment is, unfortunately, right on.

Rush Limbaugh resigns post as Republican leader? David Knowles, Politics Daily
Republicans really need to take a stand on Rush and stick to it. He is emblematic of a policy of "no." He offers no solutions, is an incendiary blowhard who does nothing but apply poor logic to protect his own fragile ego while blasting out half-baked criticisms of people who are actually contributing to the process from his ivory tower sequestered radio studio. He's been a cancer on the country and the Republican party. I'm with Wanda Sykes, I hope he gets sick and dies a slow death.

Coming to your garage: Le car. By David Harsanyi
Harsanyi sounds like a petulant child. There's no reason to believe that cars with less emissions and better mileage will be terrible cars. It's also the direction that Detroit will have to go anyway. Trucks and SUVs are getting slaughtered by the Prius, a small car that is very successful and happens to be a good car. It's not the government that is mandating smaller, more efficient cars, it's the market, which Harsanyi apparently knows nothing about. And his scenario about a Republican bailing out Detroit is moot, it already happened and his name was George W. Bush.

RNC = Rush-Newt-Cheney? Don't make me laugh. By Karl, Hot Air
Of course the Democrats are going to try to make Cheney, Gingrich, and Limbaugh the faces of the Republican party. They are very unpopular figures who can't seem to shut their mouth. Cheney alone seems to be intent on painting the Republican party as being pro-torture. The conservative media (Fox News) plays right along by deifying these polarizing figures. As long as the party can't learn some humility and start listening to the people rather than telling them that they are immoral, they are going to be irrelevant, which is why Obama has more difficulties with unruly Congress than any kind of real Republican opposition.