This blog has a dim view of politicians. But intellectual integrity demands that we give praise where due, as well as criticism. And the Obama administration certainly seems to be putting its best foot forward in its opening days.
Not only is Guantanamo Bay shutting down, but President Obama has made a few other positive moves on government openness and some of the Bush administration’s civil liberties shortcomings. Radley Balko details them here and here.
More, please.
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Posted in Political Animals, Security Theater
The New York Times asks, apparently without irony, “How much does your morning glass of orange juice contribute to global warming?”
I’m supposed to feel bad about drinking orange juice now? Really? Even Catholic guilt has nothing on the New Religion.
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Posted in Mankind's Doom, The New Religion
From The Hill: Celebs compare Obama to Jesus, Gandhi
Oh, for Christ’s sake.
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Posted in General Foolishness, Media
There is a great deal of romance in politics. Why else would we spend $170 million on an inauguration? H.L. Mencken had a more sober view of political animals. They are rarely chosen for their merit, or their stances on the issues of the day. The successful candidate actively avoids such things in his speeches. No:
“They are chosen normally for quite different reasons, the chief of which is simply their power to impress and enchant the intellectually underprivileged. It is a talent like any other… [B]ut it is obviously not identical with a capacity for the intricate problems of statecraft.”A Mencken Chrestomathy, pp. 148-49.
Comments Off on How We Choose Our Leaders
Posted in Elections, Great Thinkers, Political Animals
Tagged a mencken chrestomathy, h.l. mencken, henry louis mencken, mencken
President-elect Obama became President Obama today. It is worth taking a minute to reflect on the nature of his office. Exactly what has he gotten himself into?
Good men rarely become president. Good people don’t even want to be president. Once in a while, one slips through the cracks. George Washington. Abraham Lincoln. Grover Cleveland (not kidding). Maybe Barack Obama will be added to that list some day. It’s too early to tell.
I have some doubts. Here’s why: becoming president requires years of campaigning and fundraising, handshaking and deal-making — no one can possibly endure the modern campaign unless they thirst for power to their very core.
Campaigning for even minor office requires months of the candidate prostrating himself before people he’s never met. Making grand promises he couldn’t possibly keep. The things that must do to his mind. Especially if he starts buying his own hype.
Our candidate must hide his true beliefs. He has to tailor his opinions to match the median voter’s. He dares not follow his own heart or mind. He’d lose for sure.
Good people carry themselves with pride and dignity. The man or woman who voluntarily embarks on the modern campaign has neither.
And the media coverage. The spotlight so bright that it burns. Unkempt reporters always scurrying underfoot. Never a moment to yourself on the campaign trail.
Worse, the strain it puts on your family. Long weeks of separation. Unflattering exposés, revealing your relatives’ personal lives for millions to see.
Good people do not do that to their families.
Nor do good people seek power over other human beings. Morality in politics is that of Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic; might makes right. No parent would teach that to their child. It is wrong.
Yet it is the morality that men must follow to become president.
Politicians are terrible little creatures. May our children aspire to greater things than the presidency.
Posted in Elections, Philosophy, Political Animals
I laughed when President Bush declared a federal emergency in the District of Columbia because of the inauguration.
Yes, it was only a way to get more funding to the District. More people are in town than expected, and the city needs to maintain order.
It’s still amusing to think of a simple inauguration as a federal emergency.
Now I hear on the tv that tanks are being brought in. Wait, what?
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Posted in Elections, Executive Power, Political Animals
My houseguests and I were watching some inauguration coverage on the tv this morning. One of the newsreaders discussed some data on Americans’ knowledge of President Obama’s political philosophy.
13% of those polled said that President Obama is a conservative. This was a surprise. 13%? Really?
A second 13% bloc was more honest, or at least more secure about their ignorance. They were the “don’t know/don’t care” contingent. I can respect that.
Now add those numbers up. If the poll’s sample is representative, then more than one quarter of Americans do not know if the president is a liberal or a conservative.
People complain about low turnouts during elections. If this is the state of public opinion, then turnout is far too high.
Posted in Elections, Political Animals
Good people generally do not become president. Good people don’t even want to be president.
Why? Power is one reason. There is nothing dignified or noble about seeking power over other human beings.
Morality in politics is that of Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic: might makes right. No parent would teach that to their child. It is wrong.
The brutal campaigns are the other reason good people shy away from political careers. A successful campaign for even minor office requires months of the candidate prostrating himself before people he’s never met.
He has to tailor his opinions to match the median voter’s. He dares not follow his own heart or mind; he’d lose for sure.
Good people carry themselves with pride and dignity. The man or woman who voluntarily endures the modern campaign has neither.
Pundits started talking years ago about the notion of the “permanent campaign.” It used to be a cynical joke at the expense of a politician whose powerlust was a little too obvious; proper decorum demanded such impulses to be kept below the surface.
Decorum has declined. People who play for the Red Team are already jockeying to position themselves as their team’s nominee. More than three years from now.
The Blue Team already knows who their nominee will be. And he’s already begun campaigning for a second term. His first has not yet even begun.
The Politico‘s Ben Smith reports that President Obama has even named his permanent campaign: Organizing for America. This is unprecedented.
Smith describes it as a “potentially hugely, uniquely powerful tool, enhancing the muscle of the official who is already the most powerful man in America.”
Power. Always power. Politicians are terrible little creatures. May our children aspire to better things.
Comments Off on The Permanent Campaign
Posted in Elections, Executive Power, Philosophy, Political Animals, Public Choice, The Partisan Mind
Tagged permanent campaign, plato, the republic, thrasymachus
Madison, WI wants to reduce the number of parking spaces and garages in the city. The aim is to discourage people from using their cars, which cause global warming.
Madison is well known for being a profoundly religious city. This report (pdf) is full of ideas to compel citizens to practice the new faith.
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Posted in Mankind's Doom, The New Religion
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Posted in Political Animals
Inertia Wins! 