A test of legal logic for US civil rights
Enforcement is now more pragmatic, less principled, and more corrosive to social ideas of fairness, writes Christopher Caldwell
Barack Obama: the first year
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Comprehensive coverage of President Barack Obama’s first year in office
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Treasury pushes ahead with toxic asset plan
The US Treasury pushed ahead with scaled back plans for public-private partnerships to buy toxic assets, naming nine fund managers and allocating $30bn of public funds, but without securing any further backing from the Federal Reserve
Guantánamo highlights US ambivalence
The violence in Xinjiang tests Washington’s readiness to take a stand on what China calls its internal affairs and what rights activists say is an issue of global concern
US and S Korea fall victim to cyber-attack
Officials privately acknowledged the assaults, which began over the July 4 holiday in the US, were among the longest and most effective to date
Congress reignites US stimulus debate
Republicans prepared for battle over the stimulus, looking to take advantage of the Democratic division over this year’s $787bn infusion of federal aid to the US economy
Obama urges end to cold war distrust
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met for the first time for a breakfast talk that seemed to do little to warm their apparently frosty personal relations but left both men insisting that they could do business
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Who will use the G-word: Georgia?
Next week’s summit in Moscow between Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev is being billed in Russia as the media event of the year, on a par with the great occasions when Ronald Reagan met Mikhail Gorbachev to end the cold war
Obama is choosing to be weak
As he promised last year, Barack Obama has brought climate change and healthcare reform to the centre of the nation’s attention. The problem is that the bills emerging from Congress are bad and the president does not seem to mind, writes Clive Crook
The Fed must reassure markets on inflation
The immediate challenge is to reassure investors about both the risks of inflation and the projected growth of fiscal deficits, writes Martin Feldstein
Obama needs to find middle way on Tehran
For a man who came into office promising to clasp Iran’s hand if only it unclenched its fist, Barack Obama must have felt rather punch-drunk by the end of last week
Unfreezing cold war attitudes
Both Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin say they want to “press the reset button” in US-Russian relations but if this is truly to happen it will take more than an agreement to cut arms
Deficit disorder
America: With federal finances deteriorating by the month, Barack Obama has to hold down spending while rolling out ambitious social programmes – or the public mood may change
President Obama needs to lead
For the most part, the US admires its new president, but across a wide range of policies it is unpersuaded of the merits of his proposals. A main reason is that he has done so little to persuade them
Obama needs to be bold on trade
The president must act to re-energise US trade policy, for trade is one of the few areas where the world contemplates the new administration with apprehension rather than hope, writes Fred Bergsten
It is time for Obama to get tough with Kenya
Inflamed by corruption and tribal animosities, Kenya has reached boiling point. Barack Obama is the only universally respected figure who might defuse the situation and avoid bloodshed, writes Michela Wrong
Interactive
Obama’s first 100 days
Interactive feature: Few presidents have taken office facing such daunting challenges as Barack Obama. Here we look at his first 100 days in office and the key policy decisions, appointments and early political crisis as they unfolded
Obama’s rescue plan explained
Graphic: Obama’s rescue plan explained by FT reporters
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