An Early Military Victory for Obama  —  It was one of the earliest tests of the new American president — a small military operation off the coast of a Third World nation.  But as President Bill Clinton found out in October 1993, even minor failures can have long-lasting consequences.

Tea Parties Forever  —  This is a column about Republicans — and I'm not sure I should even be writing it.  —  Today's G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party.  It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.

Kill the Pirates  —  With the rescue of American Richard Phillips from the hands of pirates yesterday, there was a blip of good news from the Indian Ocean, but it remains a scandal that Somali pirates continue to routinely defeat the world's naval powers.  And worse than this ongoing demonstration …

Everyone Should Pay Income Taxes  —  It's bad for our democracy to exempt half the country.  —  If you thought Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme was bad, wait until you hear about the inverted pyramid scheme the federal government is working on.  While Mr. Madoff preyed on people who trusted …

MN-Sen: State Supreme Court Justice is a Norm Coleman Donor and Should Recuse Himself  —  Last week, I took a look at the political leanings of the five Minnesota Supreme Court Justices who will decide Republican Norm Coleman's likely appeal.  Of one of the five Justices, Justice Christopher J. Dietzen …

Obama's ‘Post-Material’ Economy  —  President Obama has made no secret of his vision for America's 21st-century economy.  We will lead the world in “green” technologies to stop global warming.  Advancing medical breakthroughs will improve our well-being, control health spending and enable us to expand insurance coverage.

‘Surgical’ Bankruptcy Possible for G.M.  —  By MICHELINE MAYNARD and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED  —  DETROIT — The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.'s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court …

Realpolitik for Iran  —  For Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, “a combination of ignorance and arrogance” under the Bush administration squandered countless diplomatic opportunities with Iran and so allowed it to forge ahead with its nuclear program.

Politico Tries To Mix Steak And Sizzle  —  If I were trying to maximize my online hits for this column, the headline might be: “Politico Blamed for Decline of Journalism.”  —  But maybe that's a tad too nuanced to draw the Drudge link that would boost my numbers.  Perhaps I should go with “Web Site Addicted to Mini-Scoops.”

Thailand Cracking?  —  13 April 2009 … Back in October 2008, I emailed to the interesting journalist Dana Lewis, who was traveling between Afghanistan, Dubai and Moscow: … Dana asked for my whereabouts, and I responded: … I wrote those words on 19 October 2008 and headed back to Afghanistan.

Rick Warren explains cancellation  —  Pastor Rick Warren abruptly canceled an appearance on ABC's “This Week” in which he would have had the opportunity to clarify his denial last week that he had ever endorsed California's anti-gay-marriage ballot measure, when in fact he had done so on videotape.

Americans Most Confident in Obama on Economy  —  Democratic leaders in Congress fare better than Republican leaders  — USA - Congress - Government and Politics - Presidential Ratings - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Over two-thirds of Americans …

Schoolgirl told to choose: Country or parents  —  TOKYO, Japan (CNN) — The clicking of dozens of news cameras drowned out the sobs of the 13-year-old girl, but her face explained what was happening in the departure hall of Japan's Narita International Airport.

WILL THE MAINE GIRLS SWING?  —  Last Friday, an alert reader linked Steve Benen to this The Bangor Daily News writeup of Olympia Snowe's health care listening session.  This quote, in particular, caught his eye: … Snowe's position is a bit of an odd one: She holds that we may require …

The Jackson $5 million?  —  The Sun-Times has learned that 2 members of Chicago's Indian community sent word to Blagojevich's camp that Jesse Jackson Jr. would raise $5 million in exchange for Obama's Senate seat  —  Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. …

What Would a “Bipartisan” Obama Look Like?  (Hint: A Lot Like the One We're Seeing)  —  Over at RealClarPolitics, Jay Cost takes Obama to task for failing to live up to his promises of bipartisanship.  Cost writes: … What Cost accuses Obama of is acting in bad faith — he promised “bipartisanship” and hasn't delivered.

Fed contractor, cell phone maker sold spy system to Iran  —  Dissidents monitored  —  Two European companies — a major contractor to the U.S. government and a top cell-phone equipment maker — last year installed an electronic surveillance system for Iran that human rights advocates …