David Keene

Jim Lilley died over the weekend and will be missed by all who knew him. More importantly, his wise counsel on Asia and China will no longer be available to presidents and decisionmakers who could use it now more than ever.

The Democratic win in New York’s 23rd congressional district last Tuesday was seen by more than a few observers as a sign that even on the rebound, Republicans might tear themselves apart as the crucial 2010 races approach.

Voters today in Virginia, New Jersey and New York are trudging to the polls in elections being watched closely by politicians, pundits and activists looking for clues as to what might be in store next year.

Voters today in Virginia, New Jersey and New York are trudging to the polls in elections being watched closely by politicians, pundits and activists looking for clues as to what might be in store next year.

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R) warning last week that the Obama administration may be headed down the road that ended so disastrously for President Richard Nixon in the ’70s has set off a minor firestorm among the president’s supporters and detractors.

The Senate has passed the so-called Baucus bill, which, as all but the least sophisticated newspaper reader knows, wasn’t a bill at all, but a ticket to the finals. The real healthcare bill is being written in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) office, and no one knows how much of what the Senate has already passed will survive.

Some years ago a friend of mine and I flew from Miami to Johannesburg on South African Airlines. We bought coach tickets, hoping to score an upgrade at the airport for the long and tiring flight. The business and first-class sections weren’t even close to full, so we approached the gate agent with a good story and high hopes.

One of President Barack Obama’s first orders was to “close” the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay by January 2010, but Obama’s secretary of Defense and others believe the deadline cannot be met, because they don’t know what to do with the 225 or so prisoners housed there.

A year ago Republicans, banished to the outer darkness by voters fed up with their performance, feared it might be a long time before they’d be back. A year is a long time in today’s world, and now those same Republicans are savoring the prospect of a comeback in 2010.

People live in their own little worlds and have a tendency to shut out or ignore information that makes them uncomfortable. This is particularly true of liberal politicians and journalists, who find it easier and easier to ignore facts and developments that run counter to their view of how things ought to be.