It has been telling that Obama has recruited to his ranks a slew of veteran Clinton appointees of yesteryear. Much has been made of the manner in which this strategy seems to undercut not only his criticisms of Clinton style politics but also his promise of seismic change—he has surrounded . . . . Continue Reading »
While much of the talk on this blog, appropriately enough, has been about the opportunities presented in defeat for a rethinking of conservative principles there might also be some occasssion for a reassessment of contemporary liberalism as well. The media insists on presenting Obama’s . . . . Continue Reading »
If I read him correctly, President-elect Obama seeks to blur the ethnic-cultural aspect of the individual to the point where we can, as a nation, achieve true "diversity," a oneness of purpose that will unite America with the people of the world in brotherhood and, no doubt, . . . . Continue Reading »
One can surely make a reasonable argument that Sarah Palin was underqualified to be the next Vice President. Nevertheless, I argue here that the hyperventilated contempt shown for her by our cosmopolitan elites reveals a caricatured and ugly dismissal of the lives of ordinary Americans. It’s . . . . Continue Reading »
Our own Peter Lawler explains that, like Reagan’s victory in 1980, Obama’s "negative landslide" was based upon the repudiation of an incompetent Republican party as well as his success in presenting himself as intellectually temperate, politically moderate, and . . . . Continue Reading »
Freddie : I gotta tell you, I’m such a fan of sweeping ideas and idiosyncratic solutions to social problems that I’m naturally kind of attracted to Newt Gingrich’s new grand scheme , even if it is from one of the more odious people in American politics. Certainly, I think . . . . Continue Reading »
Ross , as often transpires, has blogged something of interest: [ . . . ] Obama’s "ironist’s temperament" doesn’t just make him a more interesting politician than your average baby-kisser: It has the potential to be crucial to his success as President. Mass democracy has . . . . Continue Reading »
I used to engage in Marxist class analysis simply for the sake of shoring up my lefty street cred, an indispensable commodity for Yale undergraduates. This time around, though, it’s because I don’t know any other way to explain a particular kind of argument wandering the hallways of the . . . . Continue Reading »
Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something, nothing; ‘Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed. OTHELLO, III.iii The most interesting sentence in the most . . . . Continue Reading »
The uncanny and unsettling distance between what seems and what is pops up again in David Brooks’s latest column . These are my bolds below: If you wanted to pick words to capture Patio Man’s political ideals, they would be responsibility, respectability and order. Patio Man moved to . . . . Continue Reading »