By Steve Clemons

(Oakley the Amazing Weimaraner waiting for Steve to get home for the surprise birthday party) Good morning all. Today, we are 47. Well, I am actually.

I just received word at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris that Senator Ted Kennedy has died at age 77. While his passing was increasingly expected, it doesn’t make the time and day of his death any less significant and sad.

My colleague Daniel Levy and I have spent the last couple of days in the Village of Pomerol in the Aquitaine region of France discussing next steps in our Middle East policy work. September and October are going to be big roll out months for all of those engaged in the Israel-Palestine/broader Middle East quagmire….

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is one of Europe’s premier political operators. Scandals and intrigue seem to add to his mystique, at least when it comes to French politics. A poll was released today in France indicating that among Democratic Socialists, Strauss-Kahn is favored by 33% of those questioned. Segolene Royal pulled 14%. Bertrand Delanoe 13%.

Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon sent this note out on Twitter earlier today: Hopes the rumored settlement freeze is just a rumor, because it hasn’t gone through appropriate forums. This is the best news I’ve heard in a while.

(Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaking to New America Foundation foreign policy programs director Steve Clemons at Kirribilli House, Sydney, 16 August 2009; photo credit: Larry Irving) I have just finished a few days of meetings in Melbourne and Sydney under the auspices of the annual Australian American Leadership Dialogue, a significant track 2 dialogue…

Last night at the gala 800 person dinner of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, I was able to connect with the impressive Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and chatted with him about his and Barack Obama’s side chatter about Hawaii.

One of the issues that has most irked me about the Obama administration’s approach to trying to move the economy forward is a fundamental misunderstanding about US national interests and how corporate behavior works.

Reports are in on the new Richard Gere film, Hachiko: A Dog Story. All of my friends who saw it were in tears. They said it’s sort of a Marley and Me type deal. Enough of Hachiko — but I did want to post my picture with the famous dog’s commemorative statue.

Some newer readers may not know that there are a substantial number of TWN readers who actually come to the blog for the pup pictures — not my content or even to read our various dueling commentators.