My last post left a few loose ends, so let me clarify and amplify. First, Albert Hirschman is very much with us, although in failing health. He could not attend yesterday's event in his honor, although his wonderful wife Sarah Hirschman and many members of the Hirschman family were there. It was...

Yesterday, I did a short piece for the Huffington Post on whether health care reform would affect our Middle East policy: Obama -- to the surprise of many, myself included -- has been weak on narrative. As of a couple week ago, the emerging narrative, at home and abroad, was that he was weak, al...