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Tomgram: Juan Cole, The Asian Century? | TomDispatch For Barack Obama, midterm 2010 has already been written off as a crushing Republican triumph, but that’s hardly the full story. After all, approximately 29 million Americans who voted for him in 2008 didn’t bother to stir for him or the Democrats in 2010. Think of it this way: he’s less a man who lost to the opposition than a man who lost his own dispirited base, much of which is by now thoroughly disappointed, if not mad as hell, and evidently not particularly interested in supporting him anymore. Like many presidents in defeat, he promptly left town (or "the bubble ," as he’s taken to calling it) for places as far east as possible, in this case all in Asia. In the wake of an electoral blowout, this previously planned diplomatic journey of goodwill was quickly recast as a search for American jobs. A little late to launch that search, of course, and India may not be the perfect fit either. After all, a...

The Forty First New York City Marathon on a chilly Sunday brought us warmness. The men's marathon was packed with top athletes, including Haile Gebreselassie running for the first time and a rookie Ethiopian 26-year-old Gebre Gebremariam who won many long distance running this year but was a debutant to marathon which he won and surprised himself and the world. The elite runners packed together among them Haile Gebreselassie and the defending champion Meb Kiflezgie until Queens Borough Bridge, the 16-mile mark. Haile was forced to back down because of a knee injury. Haile told New Yorkers on starting lineup that he had "minor" inflammation on his knee and promised to do his best. It was at Queens Borough Bridge Haile Gebreselassie and Gebre Gebremariam met, Haile said, "Go Gebre! You can not stay far behind" and I am done; the call that motivated Gebre like Mamo Wolde at 1968 Mexico Olympics when Abebe Bikila couldn...