Will Obama save liberalism?

By William Kristol
THE NEW YORK TIMES

January 27, 2009

All good things must come to an end. Jan. 20, 2009, marked the end of a conservative era.

Since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, conservatives of various sorts, and conservatisms of various stripes, have generally been in the ascendancy. And a good thing, too! Conservatives have been right more often than not – and more often than liberals – about most of the important issues of the day: about communism and jihadism, crime and welfare, education and the family. Conservative policies have on the whole worked – insofar as any set of policies can be said to “work” in the real world. Conservatives of the Reagan-Bush-Gingrich-Bush years have a fair amount to be proud of.

They also have some regrets. They'll have time to ponder those as liberals now take their chance to govern.

Lest conservatives be too proud, it's worth recalling that conservatism's rise was decisively enabled by liberalism's weakness. That weakness was manifested by liberalism's limp reaction to the challenge from the new left in the 1960s, became more broadly evident during the 1970s, and culminated in the fecklessness of the Carter administration at the end of that decade.

In 1978, the Harvard political philosopher Harvey Mansfield diagnosed the malady: “From having been the aggressive doctrine of vigorous, spirited men, liberalism has become hardly more than a trembling in the presence of illiberalism. . . . Who today is called a liberal for strength and confidence in defense of liberty?”

Over the next three decades, it was modern conservatism, led at the crucial moment by Ronald Reagan, that assumed the task of defending liberty with strength and confidence. Can a revived liberalism, faced with a new set of challenges, now pick up that mantle?

The answer lies in the hands of one man: the 44th president. If Reagan's policies had failed, or if he hadn't been politically successful, the conservative ascendancy would have been nipped in the bud. So with President Obama today. Liberalism's fate rests to an astonishing degree on his shoulders. If he governs successfully, we're in a new political era. If not, the country will be open to new conservative alternatives.

We don't really know how Barack Obama will govern. What we have so far, mainly, is an inaugural address, and it suggests that he may have learned more from Reagan than he has sometimes let on. Obama's speech was unabashedly pro-American and implicitly conservative.

Obama appealed to the authority of “our forebears,” “our founding documents,” even – political correctness alert! – “our Founding Fathers.” He emphasized that “we will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.” He spoke almost not at all about rights (he had one mention of “the rights of man,” paired with “the rule of law” in the context of a discussion of the Constitution). He called for “a new era of responsibility.”

And he appealed to “the father of our nation” who, before leading his army across the Delaware on Christmas night in 1776, allegedly “ordered these words be read to the people: 'Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it.' ”

For some reason, Obama didn't identify the author of “these timeless words” – the only words quoted in the entire speech. He's Thomas Paine, and the passage comes from the first in his series of Revolutionary War tracts, “The Crisis.” Obama chose to cloak his quotation from the sometimes intemperate Paine in the authority of the respectable George Washington.

Sixty-seven years ago, a couple of months after Pearl Harbor, at the close of a long radio address on the difficult course of the struggle we had just entered upon, another liberal president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also told the story of Washington ordering that “The Crisis” be read aloud, and also quoted Paine. But he turned to the more famous – and more stirring – passage with which Paine begins his essay:

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

That exhortation was appropriate for World War II. Today, the dangers are less stark, and the conflicts less hard. Still, there will be trying times during Obama's presidency, and liberty will need staunch defenders. Can Obama reshape liberalism to be, as it was under FDR, a fighting faith, unapologetically patriotic and strong in the defense of liberty? That would be a service to our country.

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me@rescam.org

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Funny, Obama a chain smoker, MAD certainly does come up with some crazy stuff. :)

The honeymoon is over.

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me@rescam.org

"Beware the greedy hand of government, thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry." --Thomas Paine


Demo economic plan

"The stimulus package being discussed is politically smart but economically stupid. It's that bedeviling, omnipresent Santa Claus and Tooth Fairy problem again. ... A far more important measure that Congress can take toward a healthy economy is to ensure that the 2003 tax cuts don't expire in 2010 as scheduled. If not, there are 15 separate taxes scheduled to rise in 2010, costing Americans $200 billion a year in increased taxes. In the face of a recession, we don't need that." --economist Walter E. Williams

Observing ones economic experience may justify recent comments.

thank god that the last three post are from experienced economics

Capitalists budgets...

"This was the lead in [Thursday] afternoon's Chicago Tribune story, following the conviction of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich: 'The Illinois Senate voted to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office Thursday, marking the first time in the state's long history of political corruption that a chief executive has been impeached and convicted.' The vote to oust Blagojevich, who is a Democrat, was very close ... 59-0. The thing which struck me about the Trib's lead was the phrase 'the state's long history of political corruption.' What a wonderful legacy to the Republic that its fifth most populous State have a 'long history of corruption.' And how absolutely marvelous that the very state which has that 'long history of corruption' happens to the be the home state of ... Oh, my. Can it be? Yes! President Barack Obama. The only person ever to have served in the Illinois State Senate to have emerged with his robes unsoiled; his hands unsullied; his soul pure. It is as if you cannot just say his name. Angels have to sing it: Baaaaarrrrraaaaack Ohhhhhbaaaaaahhhhma. Well, we'll see. The thing about Blagojevich I have disliked the most is how hard it is to remember how to spell his name. Sort of like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Or Albuquerque. Gray Davis was recalled in California. Elliott Spitzer resigned in New York. And now Rod Blogzoiub;zytch has been convicted of impeachment in Illinois. While they certainly do not have the corner on corruption and bad behavior, it seems to me that Democratic Governors are in a slump." --political analyst Rich Galen

And how absolutely marvelous that the very state which has that 'long history of corruption' happens to the be the home state of ... Oh, my. Can it be? Yes! President Barack Obama.

One thing to remember is that President Obama is not an IL native and he was only an IL senator for a couple years if I'm not mistaken (I know it wasn't very long). So yes, its easy for him to come out of IL "unsoiled". What horrible editorializing to infer that because President Obama came from a place known for its corruption that somehow he must be as well.

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And how absolutely marvelous that the very state which has that 'long history of corruption' happens to the be the home state of ... Oh, my. Can it be? Yes! President Barack Obama.

One thing to remember is that President Obama is not an IL native and he was only an IL senator for a couple years if I'm not mistaken (I know it wasn't very long). So yes, its easy for him to come out of IL "unsoiled". What horrible editorializing to infer that because President Obama came from a place known for its corruption that somehow he must be as well.

I've never met a clean politician. What's horrible is that no one notices.

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And how absolutely marvelous that the very state which has that 'long history of corruption' happens to the be the home state of ... Oh, my. Can it be? Yes! President Barack Obama.

One thing to remember is that President Obama is not an IL native and he was only an IL senator for a couple years if I'm not mistaken (I know it wasn't very long). So yes, its easy for him to come out of IL "unsoiled". What horrible editorializing to infer that because President Obama came from a place known for its corruption that somehow he must be as well.

I've never met a clean politician. What's horrible is that no one notices.

Oh, we all notice. Most of us have simply accepted that as a fact of life. Its not wrong until you get caught (not my philosophy, to clarify). Then the fun begins!

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"This was the lead in [Thursday] afternoon's Chicago Tribune story, following the conviction of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich: 'The Illinois Senate voted to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office Thursday, marking the first time in the state's long history of political corruption that a chief executive has been impeached and convicted.' The vote to oust Blagojevich, who is a Democrat, was very close ... 59-0. The thing which struck me about the Trib's lead was the phrase 'the state's long history of political corruption.' What a wonderful legacy to the Republic that its fifth most populous State have a 'long history of corruption.' And how absolutely marvelous that the very state which has that 'long history of corruption' happens to the be the home state of ... Oh, my. Can it be? Yes! President Barack Obama. The only person ever to have served in the Illinois State Senate to have emerged with his robes unsoiled; his hands unsullied; his soul pure. It is as if you cannot just say his name. Angels have to sing it: Baaaaarrrrraaaaack Ohhhhhbaaaaaahhhhma. Well, we'll see. The thing about Blagojevich I have disliked the most is how hard it is to remember how to spell his name. Sort of like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Or Albuquerque. Gray Davis was recalled in California. Elliott Spitzer resigned in New York. And now Rod Blogzoiub;zytch has been convicted of impeachment in Illinois. While they certainly do not have the corner on corruption and bad behavior, it seems to me that Democratic Governors are in a slump." --political analyst Rich Galen

if he can´t write political analysis which is based on facts, it would be better
if he start to write pure fiction, but not science fiction, he is not that good.

Governors, senators and elected politicians have been selected to do a job, corruption and repetative corruption is the constitutional responsibility. For a nation practicing politics each and everyday, it may be considered reflective of the mechanism and those who scramble to acheive a place among it. Considering that, a changing environment and changing personnel will bring fresh challenges for some who may be/may not be educated enough or bring the right tools to the table. The prime focus for politics of this era seems to be financial equity and its tumultousity. That can be very hectic for a little number of people manipulating larger numbers of people. Blupers and risks...

European parliment has member states that share presidency and operate the decisions on a 'term' of individual presidency. Its transparent nature can be obvious and perhaps the American national inbred identity has not recognised the teething problems of newer politicians coming to the table. America has a special unity of national identity which I believe serves the nation first and formost. Follow the big names, the're not messing about. Everyones got an idea, but, experience counts, and sometimes its better saying less.


My opinion, who is trustworthy, educated enough and caring enough?

Stick with those once the're proven regardless of term duration...

Boss is boss...

Nice show you just put on TV. Where's my dinner and champagne? So much for doing away with earmarks just cuz it's always been done before. Long life the status quo!

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me@rescam.org

Hope & change:

If there wasn't enough of a three-ring legal circus while her husband was president, now Hillary Clinton has to respond to a legal proceeding, too. On behalf of State Department employee David Rodearmel, the watchdog group Judicial Watch filed suit challenging Hillary's eligibility for secretary of state based on Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution, known legally as the "Emoluments" Clause. Despite Congress readjusting the salary of both the secretary of state and secretary of the interior as a fix to get around the Constitution and allow both Hillary and former Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado to serve, the plaintiffs argue that the secretary of state's compensation was still increased during Sen. Clinton's term in office, which began in 2007, and thus renders Hillary ineligible until 2013. To decide otherwise, argues Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, would be to allow an "end run" around the Constitution.

The case, Rodearmel v. Clinton, is pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on an expedited basis. Given President Obama's track record of selecting scofflaws for cabinet posts, Mrs. Clinton's circumstances aren't surprising.

Jay Leno:
In Hawaii, a billion-dollar Navy warship has run aground, and they can't get it unstuck. Its name? The USS Economy.

The economy is so bad right now Barack Obama's new slogan is "Spare Change You Can Believe In."

The jobless rate has jumped to 7.6 percent, the worst since 1974, and economists are now worried this could lead to a resurgence of disco.

It looks like more than 13,000 people were caught up in that Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. You know what a Ponzi scheme is? That's where you throw good money after bad, or as the government calls it, a stimulus package.

It came out today that the House Democratic Caucus spent $500,000 of taxpayer money for retreats at luxury resorts and spas -- though Democrats say that the time was used for "strategic planning for the country." Really? Then what's the Capitol building for?

President Obama, getting very tough now, has imposed a $500,000 salary cap for executives getting federal bailout money. And, listen to this: Now on weekends, they can only play miniature golf.

See, the whole theory behind this salary cap is if you're not performing well, and you're taking taxpayer money, then that should be reflected in lower wages. Of course, under that criteria, everybody in Congress should get like, what, two bucks an hour?

See, the whole theory behind this salary cap is if you're not performing well, and you're taking taxpayer money, then that should be reflected in lower wages. Of course, under that criteria, everybody in Congress should get like, what, two bucks an hour?

The highest political office in the U.S. is the Office of the President, who's wages were recently increased by George W. Bush from $200,000/yr to $450,000/yr, which is still under $500,000/yr as specified by the cutoff.

I honestly don't know other's wages, but are you saying that every person in Washington makes more than the President of the U.S.?

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