What else can be said about Sean Penn other than that he is an unbelievably extraordinarily gifted actor with a sense of self and social conscience matched by very few in Hollywood.
This has been a good year for policy books — particularly ones that I think have moved the policy needle in better directions than they have been going. The Washington Post has just published its roster of “Best Books of 2008.
It is painfully clear that we are not “winning” in Afghanistan, and that we need a new strategy. While President-elect Obama has carefully calibrated and qualified his “timetable” strategy for Iraq, he has unequivocally promised to send more troops and more resources to fight the “good war” in Afghanistan.
I recently hosted Helene Cooper for a discussion about her best-selling book, The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of A Lost African Childhood.
Tevi Troy‘s business card reads “The Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.” That’s right. He’s not one of five deputies. He’s the second highest ranking guy in the Department.
I think you’ll enjoy this five minute chat with Barton Gellman, author of the best-selling Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, a book which I think makes a great holiday gift. A video of an event discussion I held with New America Foundation president Steve Coll and Bart Gellman is available here.
I’m just back from Brussels — pretty tired, or jet-lagged technically. Next week — Paris, California, Georgia. . . The pups haven’t said hello as a threesome lately, so greetings from Oakley, Annie and Buddy – a family of amazing weimaraners. More when I wake up.
As I’m sure the Obama Administration transition team is aware, Poznan, Poland is currently hosting a very important UN-sponsored climate change conference. At stake is nothing less than the next round of emissions reduction commitments (a Kyoto successor) — which Barack Obama has said he wants the U.S. to participate in.
Just arrived in Brussels and in the hotel lobby ran into the very smart Tevi Troy who is Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. This will probably be his last European Ministerial meeting during this stint of government service. Troy used to be George W.
I just heard that Matt Cooper commented on MSNBC Live that Secretary of Commerce-designate Bill Richardson is the guy to lead on Cuba. I think Cooper nailed it–the outgoing governor of New Mexico it is a natural fit with an elegant dash of poetic justice rarely found in Washington.
