personal

Your humble blogger will be MIA for the next few days, as he is attending the annual meeting of the Japanese Association of International Relations in Kobe, Japan for the next few days. 

Let me assure my readers that my decision to flee leave the country has nothing whatsoever to do with recent events.  It's just a very, very, very, very happy coincidence. 

While I'm gone, let me recomend reading Evan Feigenbaum's new Council on Foreign Relations report, "The United States in the New Asia."  I'll certainly be reading it on the flight.  The latest issue of The National Interest is also worth a gander. 

And now a request from my readers -- what's worth reading that I haven't commented on?  In other words, what should I be reading? 

 

My latest bloggingheads diavlog with with Reihan Salam of the New America Foundation.  As it's the anniversary of Lehman going under, we talk about the political economy of the financial crisis, Ben Bernanke, the future of trade, and the future more generally:

 

Go check it out. 

My latest bloggingheads diavlog is with David Frum.  We discuss the situations in Iran and North Korea, and whether John Bolton is the Glenn Beck of U.S. foreign policy. 

 

My latest bloggingheads with Matthew Yglesias is up.  Topics discussed include Obama's first month, why less earmarks means more grandiose slabs of pork, and how to do an end-run around Hugo Chavez. 

Go check it out. 

As the moment of the inauguration approaches today, my mind keeps traveling back to an argument I had when I was a second year in college. 

In a political science course, I got into a disagreement with a guest lecturer from the local peace and justice center, who was leading a discussion on the future of race relations.  I remember her asking me, as a way of demonstrating the abject lack of progress in race relations, whether I thought there would be a black president in my lifetime.  The tone of her question radiated the sense that, unless I answered "no," I was a naive fool who understood little about America. 

And, of course, I said "yes" -- not because I was trying to be contrarian, but because I genuinely believed it to be true.  I remember her shaking her head sadly from side to side and smiling ruefully.  I bet Mark Penn shook his head the same way early last year.   

I hope, when Obama is sworn in, that she's smiling for a different reason.   

Loyal readers of foreignpolicy.com can hear the dulcimer dulcet tones of your humble blogger's voice at two different venues today. 

First, I had a commentary on Obama's leadership style on NPR's Marketplace today.  The key, hopeful paragraph: 

With markets and politicians in a state of panic, Obama has demonstrated that he appreciates the gravity of the situation but will not be overwhelmed by it. Even more encouraging is Obama's ability to understand and explain contending points of view. If Obama can show his cabinet that he has truly heard their views, they will be more willing to support him, even if he goes in another direction. By encouraging debate without alienating his team of egos, Barack Obama might just plug the leadership gap.

I also participated in a bloggingheads.tv diavlog with Rosa Brooks.  Many topics were discussed, including the utility of special envoys, the transition period, Bono, the Middle East, Joe the Plumber, and whether Rosa will be attending an inaugural ball (if you click here, you will, in fact, here me say "Bibbidy bobbedy boo").   

This blog has been silent about Caroline Kennedy's shadow campaign for a Senate appointment, mostly because he was convinced that this was just some effort by karma to tap dance on those partisans who took too much glee mocking the qualifications of Sarah Palin.  As someone who thought Palin was unqualified for VP-dom and thinks Kennedy is unqualified for the Senate, I nevertheless feel a massive twinge of sympathy for Caroline Kennedy after her New York Times interview.  Several media outlets are mocking her verbal tic of saying "you know" a lot in that interview.  Longtime watchers of my bloggingheads and other media appearances are well aware that I've owned that tic for several years now.  That's my thing.  That I do.  When I'm formulating what I am about to say.  When a live mic is close by.  Anything Kennedy can do to make it acceptable to the mainstream would be good for my media whoredom, and therefore a Manifestly Good Thing for the Republic. 

If you had asked me to come up, in my head, with the perfect embodiment of a rabbi, I would have thought of Arnold Wolf.  He was the rabbi emeritus at KAM Isaiah Israel synagogue in Hyde Park, and one of the most interesting individuals I have ever met.  As reporters began covering Hyde Park during the Obama campaign, they found Wolf worth quoting at length. Rabbi Wolf was always able to combine his formidable erudition with a genuine curiosity about the opinions of other people, making him the perfect rabbi for the university community of Hyde Park.  He flattered me as an early reader of this blog.  Some of the my most pleasant interactions in Chicago were random encounters with him on the street.  He simultaneously rekindled my interest in Judaism and ruined me for other rabbis.   Earlier this week, Arnold Wolf passed away.  The Chicago Tribune has his obituary.  He will be missed.  UPDATE:  President-elect Obama issued a statement on Rabbi Wolf's passing: 

I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, who was not just our neighbor, but a dear friend to Michelle and me. We are joined in this time of grief by the entire Hyde Park community, the American Jewish Community, and all those who shared Rabbi Wolf's passion for learning and profound commitment to serving others. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Throughout Chicago and in Jewish homes and classrooms across our country, Rabbi Wolf's name is synonymous with service, social action and the possibility of change. He will be remembered as a loving husband and father, an engaging teacher, a kindhearted shepherd for the K.A.M. Isaiah community, and a tireless advocate of peace for the United States, Israel and the world.