Tom Kutsch is a research associate at the New America Foundation/Middle East Task Force.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Last night, I had a good chat with Rachel Maddow on the mechanics of smart power in the context of the Haiti disaster. A lot of our conversation focused on the role of the U.S.

Steve Clemons will be on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show tonight at about 9:25 pm EST talking with her about America’s foreign policy institutions, smart power, and state building.

When I was last in Haiti, I learned how ignorant I was of some of the missing building blocks for national wealth creation in that poor island country.

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Tonight, about 8:15 pm EST, I will be chatting with Keith Olbermann about Afghanistan, terrorism, and Republican leadership attempts to undermine trust in Obama’s management of America’s security.

Opinions are mixed on whether Timothy Geithner will hold his position as Secretary of the Treasury much longer. While I have always liked Geithner personally (he’s an old Asia hand), his leadership in the eyes of many is uncompelling.

This is a guest “note” by Chas Freeman, President of the Middle East Policy Council and former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia as well as former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

(photo credit: Marc Pachter) There is something intriguing to me that the long-time, now former director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, Marc Pachter, took this picture of Ronald McDonald in Bangkok.

I normally don’t buy chachkis, but I couldn’t resist this one. It will be a priceless relic someday of this era’s destructive hyperventilation and fear-mongering. I landed in New York this morning and stopped in one of the greatest stores I’ve ever been to — the Pearl River Mart on Broadway. I paid $7.