SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 8:54 P.M. ET:

THEY JUST DON'T GET IT – The New York Times, presumably the nation's leading newspaper, sometimes called "the newspaper of record," has seen another financial decline.  It lost almost $40-million in 2011, with its fourth-quarter profits down 12.2% from the same period in 2012.  Newspapers are all under pressure because of competing media, but The Times has shown a remarkable refusal to recognize the special source of its own woes – a decline in the quality and objectivity of the paper.  The Times is special.  It should weather a hard economic climate because it has, historically, been seen as indispensable.  It is no longer indispensable because of what it has done to itself, but the illusion hasn't burst yet inside its new headquarters building, which it has been forced to sell.

TRUE BROTHERS – Americans have watched in dismay as American citizens are detained in Egypt by the military government.  They are democracy workers employed by non-profits.  Blame goes to the transitional government, but now the new guys coming into power, the key figures in the Muslim Brotherhood, have expressed their support for the high-profile investigations into the groups, claiming they could be doing more harm than good.  We are being sold a bill of goods by the Obamans that the Brotherhood has "moderated" its behavior, but its support for the military's action will not help with the image makeover.  More liberal activists in Egypt are already accusing the Brotherhood of using old totalitarian tactics to consolidate its power.  Aren't you shocked?

CAVE-IN – The United States and its allies have caved in to Russian pressure at the UN and have withdrawn a demand to impose new sanctions and a voluntary arms embargo on Syria.  Presumably, this is in exchange for a Russian agreement to a resolution that would pave the way for Syrian dictator Assad's departure.  But the Russians have not yet signed on to the plan.  Russia's resolute support of the Damascus regime, which each day is murdering its citizens in the streets, has not diminished, once again demonstrating that the old Russia is returning.  This pretty much wrecks the idea that Obama and Clinton have been able to manage a "reset" in US-Moscow relations.  The only reset button that's functioning is the one pushed by Russia, which is resetting much of the old Cold War.

OBAMA'S ECONOMIC APPROVAL – Only 36% of likely voters grade President Obama as either good or excellent in handling the economy, according to a new Rasmussen poll.  Some 62% rate him as fair to poor, with 45% rating him poor.  The poll shows particular problems with men, middle-aged and senior voters, and independents.  Democrats say they need just six more months to show that the economy is turning around. 

February 2, 2012