It all comes back full circle

Read this gem in politico today as Obama signed the new nuclear arms agreement with Russia's President Vladimir Putin Dmitri Medvedev to cut back their arsenals by one third over the next seven years. The world is now a safer place, at least if you're in the Super Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Justice League.

While the article is a little too rosy for my liking, writing beauties such as, "In a gilded hall here in a castle" (am I reading a fairy tale or a diplomatic meeting between two superpowers?) "Obama [...] seemed to be in good spirits heading into [...] a significant foreign policy accomplishment to build on his recent health care successes" (define success, then we'll talk) and then goes on to discuss a jocular encounter between Obama and Robert Gibbs.

I guess all is swell in negotiations to control this kind of power.

The cherry on top is that this new treaty was signed in Prague, where one year ago Obama made a speech declaring his dedication to a nuclear-free world. While this treaty is a start (no pun intended) it certainly is not the complete fulfillment of Obama's promise. I am interested to see how this plays out alongside Obama's goals in when & where nuclear combat can be used (see previous post).

On another note, If the media's role is to influence American perceptions about the state of affairs in the world (whether things are "good" or "bad") Politico is doing a great job in moving away from observational reporting and moving towards opinionated news.