I am a small-government conservative who clings tenaciously and old-fashionedly to the idea that one ought to have balanced budgets. On abortion, gay marriage, et al, I’m libertarian....By comparison:
But having a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect, President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren’t going to get us out of this pit we’ve dug for ourselves. If he raises taxes and throws up tariff walls and opens the coffers of the DNC to bribe-money from the special interest groups against whom he has (somewhat disingenuously) railed during the campaign trail, then he will almost certainly reap a whirlwind...
Obama has in him—I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy “We are the people we have been waiting for” silly rhetoric—the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for.
But that was—sigh—then. John McCain has changed.... A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget “by the end of my first term.” Who, really, believes that? Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis. His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?His positions change, and lack coherence....
Is Buckley not right?
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 213 of 213McCain booed by rabid supporters for defending Obama as a "decent person"
By SilentPatriot Friday Oct 10, 2008 5:45pm
So it's come to this. At a town hall meeting in Minnesota Friday night, John McCain was loudly booed after he defended Obama as a "decent man" that his supporters shouldn't be afraid of. The answer came in response to two questions from audience members, one by a man who said he's afraid of raising his unborn first child in Barack Obama's America, and another one from an older woman, who McCain had to yank the mic away from, after she called him "an Arab" that she "couldn't trust."
"He is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared about as President of the United States. If I didn't think I would be one heck of a better president I wouldn't be running."
Older Woman: "I have read about him. He's an Arab".
"No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."
While it's nice to see McCain defend Obama from what Glenn Greenwald calls his "traveling lynch mob," it's important to understand that it was McCain himself (and, of course, Sarah Palin) who have been working overtime for the past 10 days or so painting Obama as a Un-American Terrorist Foreigner who they should be fearful of.
Now that McCain has debunked his own campaign's last line of attack, where does he go from here? Perhaps he can start trying to convince a majority of Americans that his ideas are superior to Obama's? I won't hold my breath.
With twenty years of the ups and downs of the U.S. business cycle, there is a significant advantage when a Democrat occupied the White House in each of five categories.
% Per Annum - GDP Growth:
Democrat 4.1%
Republican 2.9%
Et cetera
It's funny how Michael cuts and pastes that into every thread.
Let me point out that during this twenty year period we had either a Republican President or a Republican House for all but two years. The eight years of Bill Clinton saw the peace dividend from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
For fun, not for coherent argument, let's do the comparison to the last time we had four years of Democratic President and Democratic House. That would be Jimmy Carter.
Off the top of my head I remember:
Unemployment around 6.5%
Inflation over 10%
Home interest rates over 15%
Gas lines over 20 minutes
The "Misery Index" the highest since WW2.
As Mark Twain and Benjamin Disraeli have pointed out, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Your choice of the last twenty years for you analysis, puts it in the last category. I also can make ex post facto analysis come out in my favor.
Wasn't young Buckley the good Catholic lad who knocked up his mistress and then tried to dodge his child support?
Conservative family values indeed.
I understand WFB was quite miffed.
Two lousy candidates, four lousy years.
"Conservative Soul" Obama, who will struggle with every executive decision, not wanting to offend anyone--and end up getting rolled by Pelosi and Reid.
I'm pretty sure a three-year-old could successfully stand up to Pelosi and Reid. For pity's sake, Pelosi doesn't even know how to figure out how many votes she's got for a measure before she brings it to the floor.
Michael,
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Christopher Buckley is Andrew Sullivan with a better sense of humor and a 15 point IQ advantage.
Those who preen to be among the outer rings of the Obama universe are now announcing their fawning support.
Christopher Buckley seems to have found a faith in Obama's abilities and character that I have not.
And if he is wrong...?
Is Buckley not right?
Yes, about McCain. Hope so about Obama.
In response to Michael's 9:09pm comments:
I do not think Senator Obama is a bad man, but I do think he has shown a tolerance for evil that is disturbing.
He may not share Rev. Wright's views, but he tolerated them. He did not challenge them.
He may not share Bill Ayers views, but he tolerated them. He did not challenge them.
It is one thing to stand by someone if with which you merely have policy differences, but it something else entirely to be in the presence of evil and do nothing. Ayers is an unrepentant terrorist that wishes his organization had carried out even more attacks. Obama worked with him and even launched is political career in his home. Rev Wright is an obvious racist. I find it impossible to believe Obama simply didn’t know this fact. Of course he knew, but he chose not to challenge the evil around him. Instead, he exposed his wife and children to this kind of hate filled evil for years.
So, in addition to the economic and social policies I disagree with, I’m also very concerned about Obama’s track record of befriending evil instead of challenging it.
This not a defense of the handful of nutters that have caught the attention of the news at McCain rallies. But, I would like to point out that McCain is challenging the evil and ignorance in his midst. He is not tolerating it as Obama has.
IMPORTANT PUBLIC NOTICE!
I, Michael_H, am not any other 'Michael' or similarly named denizen of the Althouse neighborhood. I like it here.
Do we really HAFTA listen to these endless posts by Johnny One Note?
Sarah Palin comes from the Samuel Adams wing of the Republican party.
Sarah Palin comes from the Keystone Light wing of the Republican Party. Of course, John McCain comes from the Michelob wing of the Republican Party, and his wife is a Busch supporter.
Obama actually sued S&Ls to force them to give loans to people that couldn't afford them -- the S&Ls were trying to skirt Clinton's insane regulations. Bastards.
There are at least two errors in that sentence:
Obama was one of many lawyers (Alexis, Hilary I. (Illinois)
Childers, Michael Allen (Illinois)
Clayton, Fay (Illinois)
Cummings, Jeffrey Irvine (Illinois)
Love, Sara Norris (Virginia)
Miner, Judson Hirsch (Illinois)
Obama, Barack H. (Illinois)
Wickert, John Henry (Illinois) who represented clients suing Citibank because it rejected black applicants for mortgages while accepting equally-qualified white applicants.
Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendant-bank rejected loan applications of minority applicants while approving loan applications filed by white applicants with similar financial characteristics and credit histories. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief, actual damages, and punitive damages.
U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo certified the Plaintiffs' suit as a class action on June 30, 1995. Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank, 162 F.R.D. 322 (N.D. Ill. 1995). Also on June 30, Judge Castillo granted Plaintiffs' motion to compel discovery of a sample of Defendant-bank's loan application files. Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank, 162 F.R.D. 338 (N.D. Ill. 1995).
The parties voluntarily dismissed the case on May 12, 1998, pursuant to a settlement agreement.
All that the dreaded Community Redevelopment Act required was that savings and loans that took deposits from a certain neighborhood should make mortgage loans in that neighborhood.
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