John McCain in Foreign Policy on how Republicans will change foreign policy Obama's policies have diminished America's global influence, the senator and former GOP presidential nominee writes, and a Republican administration will fare better. Romney will never appear to negotiate with enemies, restore America's free trade leadership, restore national defense spending, and be more aggressive in Syria. "Foreign policy under a Republican administration would ensure that America can remain the best hope for mankind." 

Dana Milbank in The Washington Post on Romney as a control freak Ron Paul delegates made a commotion yesterday as the Romney campaign tried to stifle them. "The episode illustrated a recurrent tension for the Republican nominee: the orderliness of his world colliding with chaotic reality," a display of Romney's leadership style. He's tried to control personal matters (tax returns), political matters (refusing to answer tax policy questions), and when and what press may report, and he's lost control before. "If he is going to be president, he had better get used to it."

Thomas L. Friedman in The New York Times on Egyptian President Morsi's misstep Mohamed Morsi's trip to Tehran for the Nonaligned Movement this week is "very disturbing." Iran wants to signal that the world approves of the regime, thus never launching a democracy movement—"the exact same kind of democracy movement that brought you, Mr. Morsi, to power in Egypt," Friedman writes. The Iranian regime has squashed opposition and democracy, and Morsi's visit encourages it.

Marc Tracy in The New Republic on Chris Christie with a Mitt lens Political parties remake themselves into their frontrunners, and that happened with Christie's speech last night, where a combination of personal ambition and falling-in-line made for a speech that was "muddled, corked like a bad wine." Christie stayed on script to follow the Republican talking points, but he also rarely mentioned Romney's name. "It was as though you had taken an Instagram of the New Jersey governor and then hit the “Mitt” tint," Tracy writes.

Daniel P. Aldrich in The New York Times on building a community to survive a hurricane It's the strength of social networks—not wealth, education, or culture—that best determines whether someone will survive after a natural disaster. Community building may be the best and most cost-effective strategy to handle a hurricane. After the earthquake in Kobe, Japan, residents of one neighorhood were able to organize and douse fires. Residents in nearby Mikura stood by helplessly. Building up social networks will make vulnerable communities more resilient in times of emergency, Aldrich says.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at sdai at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Serena Dai