Obama in California

Several readers say I’m too gloomy abut Clinton’s lead in California. She has a massive lead among blacks, but that may well disappear by next February. And this time in the last election cycle, Lieberman, Gephardt and Dean were the front-runners. I guess by hyping Clinton’s poll numbers, I’m merely playing into her strategy of inevitability. But although I’m obviously hoping that Obama manages to help us put the Clinton era behind us, this blog tries to look at unpleasant facts as best I can. She isn’t inevitable, of course. Just relentless.

From the Army War College

An analysis of the last four years:

Our response to 9/11 may have done more to further the interests of our jihadist opponents than our own, in that we have weakened an international system they view as illegitimate and destabilized the Middle East in a manner they now seek to exploit… Perception of the inability of the United States to deliver global security (and unwilling to be constrained by international opinion and cooperative arrangements) will erode global confidence, contribute to economic and political instability, and encourage non-state insurgents. Within the Middle East region, our natural allies in this fight are strong, moderate states, even if some of those states espouse views that run counter to our own. To restore vitality to the system we must begin to reconcile with proto-democratic Iran and secular Syria…

…Promoting the primacy of economic over political development is as crucial to stability in the Middle East today as it was in our own history. In the end, encouraging the growth of strong, vibrant and moderate states in the Middle East is our best hedge against the global jihadist threat.

Banning Circumcision

In Australia, public hospitals in Victoria will soon prohibit the barbaric practice of involuntary male genital mutilation:

The $2 million a year saved by the ban will be spent on urgent elective surgery.

"It is important to ensure hospital services are prioritised towards treating patients who have a clinical need for surgery to improve their health," Mr Andrews said.

Win-win.