START 2.0

I'd like to call to attention this article that I saw in the nytimes today. Following the announcement 2 weeks ago that Russia & the U.S. would cut their nuclear arsenals by about 30%, Obama has decided to revamp the current policies of where & when nuclear arms are acceptable to use.

As part of this new policy, Obama is limiting the terms under which the U.S. may use weapons in their stockpile, as well as ceasing development of any new weapons. However, this non-use of nuclear power is only valid for countries in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which is currently signed by U.S, England, France, Russia, and China.

In other words, Iran and North Korea are still fair game (if necessary).

As the nytimes notes, with this announcement Obama is making himself vulnerable to criticism from both the left and the right. Of course, I don't think Obama can do anything at this point without being criticized by both ends, as the hyper-partisan nature of politics right now almost demands it. For every two "Obama is soft on national defense" and "Obama is putting our children's safety at risk" there's at least one "Obama has failed to produce the necessary progressive policies for the 21st century". There is very little middle ground for him to tread.

From recent class discussions, I realize that Obama is trying to frame a new national discussion around nuclear weapons and national defense. Coming off of the breakthrough agreement with Russia, now is a good time to keep the idea of diplomacy between nations fresh in the minds of Americans (or at least try to). With the healthcare bill passed, Obama's new prerogative is to start checking off all the other items on his "to do" list*.

Furthermore, although the 2010 November elections are still far away, in political time they're quite close. The momentum is already starting to build for Republican candidates (with help from the ire over the healthcare bill). It seems Obama's current strategy is to try and counteract the negativity with a laundry list of other accomplishments. However, only time will tell how the voters in November will weigh these against each other. One thing the Democrats do have going for them is the few months grace between now and November, since time will tend to neutralize people's memories and emotions about the divisive healthcare bill. However, healthcare reform is so momentous that I'm not even sure time could heal the wounds.

* = not including DADT, because we can reform healthcare, repair US/Russia relations, and maybe even get new regulations for Wall Street, but God forbid we let homosexuals be soldiers.