National Politics

Prescriptions for the Other Side

By Justin Katz | November 18, 2008 |

Those all-powerful radio hosts are to blame for the Republicans’ misfortunes, according to Steven Stark. If that’s the case, perhaps liberals’ difficulty succeeding in the medium was a function of strategy. More seriously, I’d point out that Stark has picked two moments in history and asserted a trend, even though Republicans’ fortunes have been more…

Father Sirico: The Way Forward

By Donald B. Hawthorne | November 17, 2008 |

With a H/T to Rossputin, here is Father Sirico of the Acton Institute offering his assessment of the current state of economic thinking: …That when one divorces freedom from faith both freedom and faith suffer. Freedom becomes rudderless (because truth gives freedom its direction). It is left up for grabs to the most adept political…

Bailing out Detroit

By Donald B. Hawthorne | November 13, 2008 |

Larry Kudlow: …Stocks were off big today — before, during, and after Paulson — closing down over 400. Tough to pin it on the Treasury man, however, since the plunge started in the early-morning well before he spoke. Some folks think the stock market is stalking Obama, whose defining moment may be a GM bailout.…

Why not?

By Donald B. Hawthorne | November 12, 2008 |

Shall we all stop paying our mortgages for the next 2 months so we also can qualify for a bailout?

Future History is Written

By Marc Comtois | November 10, 2008 |

It took historians a full term of George W. Bush’s presidency before they declared he was “the worst president ever.” Now, only days after the election, at least one prominent historian is declaring that the presidency of Barack Obama will be “unforgettable” (h/t). Like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D.Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F.Kennedy, and…

She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain?

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2008 |

George Will, in a post-election review, makes a corrective worth considering: Some conservatives who are gluttons for punishment are getting a head start on ensuring a 2012 drubbing by prescribing peculiar medication for a misdiagnosed illness. They are monomaniacal about media bias, which is real but rarely decisive, and unhinged by their anger about the…

What the Overly Credulous Should Have Assumed

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2008 |

I suppose a lot of people were predisposed to this sort of credulity, but this should have been the first guess all around: He says there’s no way she didn’t know Africa was a continent, and whoever is saying she didn’t must be distorting “a fumble of words.” He talked to her about all manner…

The Position We’re In

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2008 |

One consideration that brings some of the darker visions for an Obama presidency a few steps closer to the light of plausibility is the astonishing complicity of the media. Victor Davis Hanson states it well: In the 3rd book of his history, Thucydides has some insightful thoughts about destroying institutions in times of zealotry—and then…

Progress or return?

By Donald B. Hawthorne | November 8, 2008 |

It’s been a while since the term “Straussian” was thrown around. Rather than project interpretations by third parties onto others, here are some actual thoughts from the philosopher himself on the subject of progress: When the prophets call their people to account, they do not limit themselves to accusing them of this or that particular…

About that historic turnout….

By Marc Comtois | November 5, 2008 |

According to Byron York, Obama has 62.4 million votes, while McCain has 55.4 million. In 2004, Bush won 62 million votes, and Kerry 59 million. Yes, votes are still being tallied, but there aren’t that many more to go. According to Jonah Goldberg, 17% of 18-29 year-olds voted in 2004, 18% voted this year. All…