SHABBAT READING
Pacing Change: Covenant & Conversation, Pinchas 5771, 5784, Rabbi Sacks — Embedded in this week’s parsha is one of the great principles of leadership. The context is this: Moses, knowing that he was not destined to lead the next generation across the Jordan into the promised land, asked God to appoint a successor. He remembered what had happened when he had been away from the Israelites for a mere 40 days. They had panicked and made a Golden Calf. Even when he was present, there were times of strife, and in recent memory, the rebellion on the part of Korach and others against his leadership. The possibility of rift or schism if he died without a designated successor in place was immense. So he said to God:
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OBAMA MATTERS
Obama Endorsed Kamala Harris for the Democratic Nomination.: Jazmine Ulloa and Reid J. Epstein, NY Times, July 26, 2024 — Former President Barack Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday, delivering Ms. Harris perhaps the most important missing piece in what has been a cascade of support from her party’s most influential leaders.
Biden Gets the Chicago Treatment: Rod R. Blagojevich, WSJ, July 22, 2024
Obama Leaves No Fingerprints Behind: John Kass, John Kass News, July 24, 2024
Barack Obama Strikes Again: William McGurn, WSJ, July 22, 2024
Where Do the Obamas Stand on Joe Biden? “If President Obama Was All In, He’d Be All In.”: Kate Andersen Brower, Vanity Fair, July 17, 2024
For Further Reference:
Obama Silent Over Reports He’s Working ‘Behind the Scenes’ to Force Biden Out of the 2024 Race: Brandon Gillespie, Fox News, July 11, 2024 — Former President Obama is keeping tight-lipped following reports that he is working “behind the scenes” to force President Biden out of the 2024 presidential race.
Obama, the Puppet Master: Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen, Politico, Feb. 18, 2013 — Not for the reason that conservatives suspect: namely, that a liberal press willingly and eagerly allows itself to get manipulated. Instead, the mastery mostly flows from a White House that has taken old tricks for shaping coverage (staged leaks, friendly interviews) and put them on steroids using new ones (social media, content creation, precision targeting).
Study Saul Alinsky to Understand Barack Obama: Matt Patterson, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Feb. 7, 2012 — There is a vast and perplexing dichotomy between President Obama’s rhetoric — peppered as it is with vows of ethical purity and moral rectitude — and his actual conduct as president — characterized by flagrant cronyism and corruption.
Who Is Running the Country? Let’s See…: Park MacDougald, The Scroll, June 28, 2024 — Nobody can say they weren’t warned. For years now, various “conspiracy theorists,” “far-right extremists,” and other disreputables—lately joined by Special Counsel Robert Hur and reporters at The Wall Street Journal—have been observing that President Joe Biden struggles to complete a coherent sentence without a teleprompter, remember who or where he is, or walk without assistance (let alone ride a bike).
Top Jewish Group Fears a Harris Presidency Would Be ‘Far Worse’ Amid Rising Antisemitism: Aubrie Spady, Fox News, July 25, 2024 — Vice President Kamala Harris’ “weak condemnation” of Wednesday’s anti-Israel protests, absence from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address and sympathetic rhetoric regarding Gaza shows the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee will be a “far worse” partner for Israel than President Joe Biden, a GOP Jewish advocacy group claims.