(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Uncertainty and hope swirl around Mideast hostage deal [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-17

Haaretz:

Israeli Cabinet to Convene Friday After PM's Office Says Deal Reached for Hostage Release The Israeli negotiating team in Doha has informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an agreement has been reached for the release of hostages being held by Hamas, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office. The statement added that Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Friday and that the full cabinet will convene later in the day to ratify the deal.

This will delay any actual hostage release until Monday. it’s not done until it’s done.

Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz:

Hell and Bombs: Both Biden and Trump Now Know That Israel Only Understands Force From Biden's bombs embargo to Trump's hollow but apparently effective threat of opening the gates of hell, it's now clear to the U.S. that only maximum pressure works with Netanyahu. Faced with critical practical and policy issues, will coercion be the Trump administration's tool of choice for the unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict? The hollow expression coined by Trump, "all hell will break out" – without indicating what hell and who will walk through its gates – is the factor that turned the magic key needed to compel Netanyahu to agree to a deal that Biden laid on his desk many months ago. Could Biden have opened the gates of hell himself at an earlier stage? No commission of inquiry will be established in the U.S. to examine all the administration's failures regarding the handling of the war in Gaza, but it appears that both administrations, Biden's and Trump's, can already draw a clear conclusion: Israel only understands force.

Just keep in mind that whatever conventional wisdom claims to be the case is often not the case.

x Among Americans Who Support Tariffs - "If tariffs could cause the price of gasoline to increase 30-70 cents per gallon, would you..."



Change my mind on tariffs: 62%

Still support tariffs: 18%



Angus Reid / Jan 13, 2025 / n=518 / Online — Polling USA (@USA_Polling) January 16, 2025

The FAFO election.

Timothy Snyder/Thinking About...

Rejected Cabinet Nominees Some historical guidance A number of Trump's appointments are simply outrageous by historical, ethical, strategic, or any other standards. The ongoing confirmation hearings tend to normalize the bizarre (although Democrats and a couple of Republicans have asked meaningful questions.) So a few examples of failed nominations might serve as one tool among others to keep the events of the moment in perspective.

Holly Berkley Fletcher/The Bulwark:

Pete Hegseth and the Pornhub–Purity Culture Coalition What explains today’s political alliance of worldly bros and high-minded theobros? Start with the presumptive SecDef’s views on women and sex. I FELT FAMILIAR NAUSEA watching a particular moment during Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday—and I suspect it was a feeling shared by others watching who, like me, walked away from the white evangelical churches in which they were raised. It happened when Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) raised a subject relevant to Hegseth’s character, personal stability, and potential vulnerability to blackmail: Hegseth’s repeated adultery and other sexual indiscretions—including sleeping with someone (who alleged assault) two months after his child was born to his mistress with whom he cheated on his second wife. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) then rose to Hegseth’s defense. Mullin, who is a member of an evangelical Pentecostal church, began by thanking the third Mrs. Hegseth, present in the hearing room, for “loving him through that mistake.” Mullin went on, “The only reason I am here and not in prison is because my wife loved me, too. . . . I’m not perfect, but I found somebody that thought I was perfect . . . but just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife’s had to forgive me more than once, too.” He then gave Hegseth the opportunity to awkwardly gush about how smart, capable, and beautiful his wife is. Mullin’s mini-sermon was a lasagna of problematic messaging—the lauding of a woman for sticking with an abusive man, more generally giving women responsibility for men’s redemption, and calling longstanding patterns of behavior a “mistake.” Oh, and there was also the obligatory reference to poor Jesus—whom Hegseth also repeatedly invoked to get out of every jam free. (I seem to remember a commandment about not taking the Lord’s name in vain.)

x trump 2.0 is so much grimmer. one of the leading newspapers in america is getting disemboweled by its craven billionaire owner, the other has set fire to its credibility by backing the democratic administration's bizarre obsession with caping for human rights violations — sarah jeong (@sarahjeong.bsky.social) 2025-01-16T17:39:37.314Z

Jennifer Agiesta/CNN:

CNN Poll: Biden leaves office with his approval rating matching the lowest of his term Vice President Kamala Harris leaves office with a higher favorability rating than she held shortly before her July entry into last year’s presidential race following Biden’s announcement that he would drop out of the race – 39% have a favorable view now compared with 29% in June – but perceptions of her are still underwater, with about half holding a negative view (50%). At the outset of the Biden presidency in January 2021, Harris’ ratings stood at 51% favorable to 39% unfavorable. Most Americans, 61%, say they see Biden’s presidency overall as a failure, with 38% viewing it as a success. That lags far behind two presidencies largely seen as successful: Bill Clinton’s (68% considered it a success in 2000) and Barack Obama’s (65% rated it a success in early 2017). Biden’s time in office stands above George W. Bush’s, though, which 68% of Americans judged as more of a failure than a success when he left office in 2009. Regardless of whether they view Biden’s term as a success or a failure, most say his performance was due more to his own personal actions than to circumstances beyond his control. All told, 42% of Americans say Biden’s time was more of a failure due to personal shortcomings and 23% say that it was a success that rested on his personal strengths. About 1 in 5 (19%) say his presidency failed because of external circumstances and 15% felt he found success for that reason.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/17/2297379/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Uncertainty-and-hope-swirl-around-Mideast-hostage-deal?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/