His name is apparently John Kerry, but he's sounding a lot like Pollyanna when talking about getting Syrian President Bashar Assad to step aside. Washington Post: Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that he planned to use his first foreign trip to advance new ideas about how to persuade President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to yield power and agree to a political transition. Mr. Kerry's itinerary has not been formally announced, but he is expected to go to Europe and the Middle East later this month. Though the United States has sought to encourage a negotiated handover of authority to a transitional government, Mr. Assad's determination to cling to power has proved to be a major, and so far insurmountable, impediment. "I believe there are additional things that can be done to change his current perception," Mr. Kerry said. "My goal is to see us change his calculation." Mr. Kerry did not say what ideas he had in mind. But he stressed the...(Read Full Post)