« The U.S. has already passed the debt ceiling deadline. | Main | S&P Downgrades U.S. debt because Republicans refuse to raise taxes. »

That's the title of a recent article in The Fiscal Times by Bruce Bartlett, policy adviser to Ronald Reagan and Treasury official under the first President Bush. In it, Bartlett writes this:

Liberals hoped that Obama would overturn conservative policies and launch a new era of government activism. Although Republicans routinely accuse him of being a socialist, an honest examination of his presidency must conclude that he has in fact been moderately conservative to exactly the same degree that Nixon was moderately liberal.

He then goes on to list his conservative credentials:

** His stimulus bill was half the size that his advisers thought necessary.

** He continued Bush's war and national security policies without change and even retained Bush's defense secretary.

** He put forward a health plan almost identical to those that had been supported by Republicans such as Mitt Romney in the recent past, pointedly rejecting the single-payer option favored by liberals.

** He caved to conservative demands that the Bush tax cuts be extended without getting any quid pro quo whatsoever.

** And in the past few weeks he has supported deficit reductions that go far beyond those offered by Republicans.

Almost more interesting, though, is the walk down memory lane that he takes us as he outlines the lineage from FDR through Eisenhower and LBJ up to Nixon:

Conservatives will, of course, scoff at the idea of Obama being any sort of conservative, just as liberals scoffed at Nixon being any kind of liberal. But with the benefit of historical hindsight, it's now obvious that Nixon was indeed a moderate liberal in practice. And with the passage of time, it's increasingly obvious that Clinton was essentially an Eisenhower Republican. It may take 20 years before Obama's basic conservatism is widely accepted as well, but it's a fact.

It's a fascinating look at Presidential history and how Barack Obama fits into that timeline. Make sure to read the entire piece.

Name (required)
Email
Website
Remember personal info? Yes   No
Comments

home | music | democracy | earth | money | projects | about | contact

Site design by Matthew Fries | © 2003-23 Consilience Productions. All Rights Reserved.
Consilience Productions, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
All contributions are fully tax deductible.