What Do You Think Matters More To President Obama?

Freedom or his international popularity?

Fouad Ajami:

There is no guarantee that categorical American support would have altered the outcome of the struggle between autocracy and liberty in Iran. But it shall now be part of the narrative of liberty that when Persia rose in the summer of 2009 the steward of American power ducked for cover, and that a president who prided himself on his eloquence couldn't even find the words to tell the forces of liberty that he understood the wellsprings of their revolt.

One year on from the failed revolution in Iran, the mullahs are closer than ever to possessing nuclear weapons.

If you have tips, questions, comments or suggestions, email me at lybberty@gmail.com.

Daily Links UPDATED

Francis Fukuyama thinks President Obama should promote democracy in Iran.

Daniel Henninger crystallizes the current national debate about the size & scope of government and the importance of private entities.

Holman Jenkins thinks Apple may turn into Microsoft (in a bad way).

Newt Gingrich gives us 10 GOP ideas/solutions to our health care problem.

This is an old one, but: Michael Lewis looks at AIG.

Dean of Columbia Business School, R. Glenn Hubbard, looks into his fiscal crystal ball and doesn't like at least one thing that he sees: higher taxes.

Bret Stephens dispels 7 myths about Iran.

Fouad Ajami thinks the Obama spell (wherein people think he is the harbinger of liberal utopia) has been broken.

UPDATE 2:26pm BST: The Global Warming "consensus" (fraud) is falling apart, opines the Washington Times. (h/t Scott L.)

UPDATe 2:52pm BST: A friend of a Friend of Lybberty recently started a blog and his first post critiques Barbara Boxer's so-called Taxpayer Fairness Act.

Finally, a little more than just a link, I'll leave you with a little knowledge. We already learned from Heather Mac Donald that poverty ≠ crime. Now, James Kirchick informs us that poverty also ≠ terror.

Of the 30-odd attempted terrorist plots against the United States or American installations abroad that have been foiled since 9/11, roughly a third have been uncovered in the past year alone. What is new, and particularly frightening, about these recent attempts is that the budding perpetrators were initially indoctrinated inside the United States, with help from extremist websites or Islamic preachers. It was only after they had been brought some ways along the road to holy war that at least some of these would-be jihadists sought training and logistical support from al-Qaeda and others overseas. . . .

While they come from diverse ethnic and regional backgrounds, most of the men involved in homegrown plots fit a similar profile: they are middle class and well-educated. The same can be said of many, if not most, Islamist terrorists, whether it be the son of the former Nigerian finance minister who attempted to bring down a plane on Christmas Day near Detroit; the seven British doctors (and one medical technician) who plotted to carry out car bombings in 2007; or Osama bin Laden himself, whose family operates a massive construction empire worth billions of dollars. This reality contradicts the trendy, post-9/11 contention, as wrong then as it is now, that terrorism is caused by poverty.

This kind of rains on the parade of people who, wherever they look, see class warfare and jealousy-caused conflict between the "haves" and the "have nots."

If you have tips, questions, comments or suggestions, email me at lybberty@gmail.com.