Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Big foreign policy week for Obama. Last night, he told the nation that our combat mission in Iraq had ended. Today, he's working on the Middle East. Throughout the day, he's got one-on-one meetings (they're called bilaterals in diplomatic lingo) in the Oval Office with Israel's P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Palestinian Authority's President, Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II of Jordan, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. At 5:20 PM, Obama will make a statement to the press. Then, at 7 PM, Obama and these four leaders will make press statements. Then, they're all having dinner. Every President since I can remember has held meetings like this.

Last night, Lisa Murkowski conceded to teabagger Joe Miller in the Alaska GOP Senate primary. Palin is causing more and more problems for the GOPers these days. John McCain plucked her from obscurity to shake up the 2008 campaign. But, he really set Palin on her path of destruction -- and wealth. She's getting really rich these days after she quit that low-paying state job. She's sure doing a number on Republicans. And, she's helped put the Alaska Senate race in play. The Democratic candidate is Scott MacAdams.

After Obama solves the Middle East problems today, he really needs to get focused on the 2010 elections, which are shaping up to be a disaster for Democrats. The Democratic leaders need to rally their base. They've got just a couple weeks to do it. Here's an idea: Maybe the the White House could pretend that Obama's on the ballot. Then, maybe they'd be doing things to help everyone win. Consider this a dry run for 2012. And, do something. FAST.

And, Earl is still predicted to affect the East Coast over the next couple days: