"I can still remember when former Vice-president Dan Quayle came out with the goofy idea that people in Latin America speak Latin. What a hoot! But did the media make a big fuss then? Not on your Nellie! I guess it’s okay for guys to say and do dumb things, but when an honest American hockey mom has a slip of the tongue, it’s open season on us gals. Now really John, is that fair?"

"As the world awaits the final exit of Bush, it must be reminded that the Annapolis Conference convened exactly a year ago, is also doomed to fail. Ostensibly designed to bring many countries under the American umbrella to support the “peace process” – a euphemism for retaining Israeli settler status – Annapolis was no less than deception."

"...as far as we can tell, most of his national-security appointments seem to come from the middle to the middle-right; there is not one true progressive who can balance out the arguments that will be made inside the Cabinet. Not a good sign."

"The ideology of no ideology is nifty. No matter how tilted in favor of powerful interests, it can be a deft way to keep touting policy agendas as common-sense pragmatism -- virtuous enough to draw opposition only from ideologues."

"Piracy in Somalia cannot be solved militarily...Solving this problem will require objective focus on the root cause- the political quandary that broke down law and order and made Somalia a free-zone for crime, exploitation, and human suffering. A starting point for the soon-to-take-office new U.S. Administration is to put this issue on top of its foreign policy priority and to develop a sound policy toward Somalia."

"After the introductions and the greetings came yet another touching moment. The youth from the Nablus area wanted to know how fellow Palestinians in nearby Jerusalem were doing. They wanted to know how Nablusites were doing! No one talked about the wall, no one mentioned occupation, travel restrictions weren't harped on. Their message, delivered without malice, anger or hatred, was clear. They cared about the occupation."

"...what the West Bank and Gaza desperately need are job creation, infrastructure and capacity-building projects, as well as immediate relief. The Arabs do participate in international efforts to subsidize the Palestinian Authority budget, but that merely maintains the unacceptable status quo. To move the process forward, I would propose the creation of a rather massive multi-billion dollar "Peace and Reconciliation Incentive Fund" that would provide immediate relief and job-creating investment once the parties have agreed to a Cairo-like consensus."

"If the new President announces immediately after taking office that he is determined to achieve peace between Israel and the Arabs in the spirit of the Saudi peace initiative, before the end of 2009, this will influence many voters."