Christopher Buckley's Obama Embrace—Hope Over Reason

The thesis of Mr. Dealey's entry (that Buckley's support is predicated on a wishful Obama "U-turn") is deconstructed by reading Mr. Buckley's ENTIRE QUOTE (see below). Mr. Buckley's support appears to this reader to be based on Sen. Obama's "first class temperament" and "first class intellect", as well as the potential to be "a good, even great leader." A blog entry based on a paragraph taken out of context may satisfy "the choir", but not us thinking independents. Step up your game Mr. Dealey.

"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 that will make Katrina look like a balmy summer zephyr

So, I wish him all the best. We are all in this together. Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship. And so, for the first time in my life, I’ll be pulling the Democratic lever in November. As the saying goes, God save the United States of America.

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."

Mark of NY 5:07AM October 26, 2008

", just parenting five children is enough experience ... "

And what a wonderful job she's done at that.

Parenting does not a qualified leader make. I know plenty of people who have managed to raise children, many of whom did a better job than Palin (no unwed teen pregnancies) whom I still wouldn't want running this country. Being a parent qualifies you for nothing except, perhaps, to work in a daycare. There are some parents I know that I wouldn't even want doing that. Being a parent is, as far as qualifications goes, meaningless. Anyone can become a parent. I want someone damn smart and over-qualified to be president. Not just any "Joe six-pack" "Jane coke-head" from Alasker.

Ryan of MI 3:47AM October 23, 2008

Those who contend that Willam F. Buckley would be appalled at the actions of his son Christopher apparently hadn’t been following the opinions of the father in his last days very closely. As his last breath drew near William became increasingly disenchanted with what had become of the contemporary consevative movement, to the point that ideologically committed wife Patricia wondered aloud if he was beginning to suffer pangs of senility.

William’s disaffectations weren’t entirely recent. This was his commentary about neoconservatives in 2004: "I think those I know, which is most of them, are bright, informed and idealistic, but that they simply overrate the reach of U.S. power and influence." He came to favor drug legalization, and in an article published December 3, 2007 he advocated banning tobacco use in America. About George W. Bush he said, "If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we’ve experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign."

In a February 2006 Buckley wrote in the National Review Online, "One cannot doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed." The American Conservative observed that Buckley "saw it [Iraq] as a disaster and thought that the conservative movement he had created had in effect committed intellectual suicide by failing to maintain critical distance from the Bush administration...At the end of his life, Buckley believed the movement he made had destroyed itself by supporting the war in Iraq."

JJ of AK 9:53PM October 19, 2008

After 8 years of implementing the right wing agenda America's prestige, power, economy are at their lowest ebb since before WWII and our infrastructure, education, health system are all in bad shape also. The conservative Republican paradigm has been shown to be wrong and a failure. We can't bully or police the rest of the world ourselves; we can't do away with regulations without returning to the pre-depression economy of boom or bust; tax cuts to the rich don't grow the economy unless there is a vast increase in military spending and large deficits.

The rest of the world is learning that they can not rely on the US as an ally or world leader, nor can they rely on our economy and the dollar as the only international currency as they used to. And the rest of the world is adjusting to this with the net result that our influence and importance to the world is will be reduced significantly.

All of this is due to 8 years of Republican rule. Republicans should not and can not be rewarded for weakening our nation and squandering its resources (military, economic, and political). 90% of the US thinks we are on the wrong track. We have to though the Republicans out - Obama and the Democrats can't do any worse and, given the historic trends (in economics at least) will do much better. Give the Republicans the boot so they can learn from their failure - if Obama does poorly, boot him out in 4 years. but I, like Buckley, think he will do fine; he is smart, reflective, and has good advisers. But if we keep following the Republican road, things can only get worse; we won't get out this current crisis by doing more of the same that got us into it.

Frank of 12:32PM October 19, 2008