Daniel Lubetzky

I wrote earlier about how the American primaries have been a wonderful showcase of democracy at work. 

Everywhere I have been traveling lately, from Tel Aviv to Ramallah, from Mexico City to Sydney, Australia, people are fascinating with the US elections. 

The only scary thing that will bring us back is if the Obama-Clinton competition is not resolved in an orderly fashion by the people.  If Florida/Michigan delegates become an issue, or if the super-delegates end up crowning the nominee at odds with the vote of the people, it will bring us back to the Bush-Gore elections debacle and make American democracy look like a banana republic.

In this context it is good news that it seems like Senator Obama is establishing a firm lead and Senator Clinton is demonstrating remarkable elegance in accepting the will of the people.

Below is a funny article about a man that set out to discover where all the ingredients in a twinkie came from…and the greater issue about all the artificial ingredients in our food…

I never cease to be amazed how our mass culture has created a permissiveness to eat and manufacture products whose ingredients you can’t see or pronounce.

That is, by the way, why KIND has a commitment to "ingredients you can see and pronounce."(R)

Click below to go to the article…

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Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our courage, nor our wisdom, nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

- Robert Kennedy, March 18, 1968

David Troube wrote an insightful article about what is behind much of the "Boycott Israel" movement.

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Thanks to Janera Soerel for an exceptionally explicit and precise interview and article tackling a lot of issues revolving OneVoice, PeaceWorks, and the philosophy underlying them.

One of my favorite movies ever, which I just saw recently after many years, is The Mission.  Like all great movies, its power to entertain and its message stand the test of time…

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One of the most insightful articles to cover the American political
landscape and elections dynamics, is Michael Oreskes’ ‘The Party
Animal Either Plays Well Or Fights Well,’ [available here] in the New York Times Week in Review of Feb 3 2008.  Don’t let its dumb title, presumably assigned by yet another editor that underestimates his readers, turn you off.  The article is among the best and most on-target expositions of the
philosophies underlying today’s candidates, and their historical line.

For another deeper historical tackle at these competing styles is the
book ‘Crusaders vs. Pragmatists’ from Dr. John Stoessinger.

Sent from my iPhone – pardon typos
.

Taken from this article about the Gaza-Egypt border debacle, this picture struck me as a sad allegory not just to the challenges of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and of building of a Palestinian State, but further to so many of the challenges faced today in the Middle East, from the peace process, to the struggle between tradition and modernity, to the many divides harming the region, to the threats of nuclear proliferation, etc.

Barack Obama’s sweeping victory this weekend – he won all 3 states, Washington, Nebraska, and Louisiana, overwhelmingly – was an opportunity for him to show humility, to speak a little more about our shared responsibility to strengthen our country and our world and be global stewards to each other.  It was also an opportunity for him to speak a little bit about policy and vision – yes, to inspire, but to do so with some meat.  Most important, it was an opportunity to make it about "us."  Instead, the initial over-use of "my" and "me" felt like bragging about success with an undertone of entitlement and righteousness, and overshadowed his good moments. 

It is clear he is trying to assure voters that he can gain the nomination, that he can beat McCain, and that he can run the country.  But his speech in Virginia (where the next contest comes) had a cocky tone that is dangerous to his message.

Contrast that to the way Huckabee handled his similar victory on the Republican side this weekend.  Political commentators were scoring him points by praising him for being "understated" about his wins.

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