Rhode Island Tip Sheet: President Obama’s vision thing
STATE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE: We borrow our subject line from Politico, which plumbs the irony of the one-time superb campaigner wrestling with what the father of his predecessor dubbed “the vison thing.” Excerpt: “It’s not that Obama is overwhelmingly unpopular, despite the lousy economy: Before this week’s 39 percent Gallup approval rating, the lowest of his term, he’s been hovering in the 40s. Or that he hasn’t tried to project a broader message: Remember ‘Winning the Future’ and ‘New Foundation’? Or that he’s nibbled, Clinton-style, around the edges of America’s most pressing problems: He’s rammed health care, financial reform and stimulus bills through an often uncooperative Congress. The problem, historians, pollsters and fellow Democrats say, is that he’s done so much, said so much and recalibrated so much, voters are having a hard time getting a fix on how a president so focused on the future plans to win it.” . . . . Meanwhile, the post-Iowa Straw Poll GOP presidential primary is focusing around Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and Rick Perry. Which one matches up best against the incumbent? Perry, with a message of job growth? Romney, with his familiarity to Northeast voters? Stay tuned.
GOT SATISFACTION? While President Obama’s numbers are down, so are those of the Tea Party.
TROUBLE IN ACADEMIA, PART I: As Elisabeth describes, former Roger Williams University president Roy Nirschel resigned during an investigation into harassment allegations, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report.
TROUBLE IN ACADEMIA, PART II: The New York Times looks at how a football scandal rattled E. Gordon Gee, who once had a cup of coffee — to mix sports metaphors — at Brown University.
PROVIDENCE: Jim Bennett gets the nod as Providence’s new economic director, overseeing a handful of city departments.
ED REFORM: Supporters of mayoral academies plan to take their case to Governor Chafee Tuesday morning.
TAX ME, PLEASE, AND STOP CODDLING THE RICH: Says the super-wealthy Warren Buffet.
BLOGS: Justin Katz, the driving force behind Anchor Rising, plans to scale back his blogging due to a lack of financial support from the blog’s audience.
FOOD: The story behind the excellent Korean BBQ truck.
BIRTHDAY: Brian Jepson; Sandy Riojas; James Diossa.
On Politics 
I love Mama Kim’s Korean BBQ, so I appreciated the piece you referenced. Hyun Kim, who runs the operation and is the featured voice in the piece, is a young Brown alumnus – very industrious, enthusiastic, and friendly. The truck is often parked in front of Caswell Hall, the dorm I lived in as a freshman in 1962-63. (Years later, Congressman David Cicilline had the same room). Whenever I visit the truck there, I think about how much it improves the scene; I could have used something like this back then!