SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:05 P.M. ET:

THE IRAN TALKS – I'm just so excited.  The first day of talks with Iran about that country's nuclear program ended today, and observers say they were "positive."  What does this mean?  Why, it means they agreed to meet again next month.  It's wonderful when peace breaks out, isn't it?  How brilliant Obama is.  His diplomacy achieved an Iranian agreement to meet today...to plan another meeting.  That Nobel Peace Prize was deserved.  Oh, the Iranians are apparently demanding that the U.S. and Europe agree not to attack Iran while the talks are ongoing.  At one meeting a month, that might be, say, 10 years.

WE APOLOGIZE AGAIN – The U.S. has apologized to a major Indian movie star, Shah Rukh Khan, who was detained for 90 minutes after his private jet landed at a New York airport.  Khan arrived to deliver a speech at Yale.  He also complained he was delayed for more than two hours in 2009.  Hey, do you think maybe that Mr. Khan, who is very full of himself, isn't following some rules?  Apparently, people flying to America can avoid these hassles by following some very simple procedures before they leave.  Maybe Khan thinks he's too important.  Incredibly, the French news agency that reported the story compared it to the Trayvon Martin case.  I'm not kidding.

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN? – The United States has always run the World Bank.  And, given the amount of money involved and our contributions to the Bank, that's a good idea.  But this is the age of Obama, where a big neon sign saying WEAKNESS flashes outside the White House every night.  There's a vacancy at the top of the Bank following the resignation of American diplomat Robert Zoellick.  Ordinarily, it would be a foregone conclusion that another American would be appointed.  But now other nations, especially in Africa, are challenging our supremacy.  Candidates like Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have stepped forward to challenge Obama's choice, Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim.  The Bank's board will decide next week.  Although it's unlikely, don't be shocked if we lose the presidency.  We've lost pretty much everything else under Obama.

April 14, 2012