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• Saturday, November 29, 2008 07:18 PM

  @deloreflower

  Thanks for posting! I always enjoy exchanges with you. Unfortunately, I am somewhat ill today, with access to the computer, so I am doing an unusual amount of Salon posting, and other such foolishness.

  As I said several weeks ago, my favorite president was George H.W. Bush. I've given up any hope of conservative roll backs in the mode of Reagen or Goldwater. We're stuck with a lot of programs that eat up a lot of GDP, and that isn't going to change. My hope is to see it not get worse. You also know that I am against abortion on demand, and don't believe there is a constitutional right to it, so that's about 90 of my politics.

  I like Sarah Palin, in terms of policy, because I think she would be an effective standard bearer for most of what I believe, and want from government. Frankly, it isn't much. I am as skeptical of these wizard of oz bailout plans as I am of 100+ plus page expositions on simple passages of the Bill of Rights, explaining how they mean something counter-intuitive. I guess I'm a simpleton. I like simple beatitudes, simple rights. Or, to quote an atheist, Friedrich Nietzsche, he who would be deep should strive for simplicity. That's my politics, too.

  I like Sarah as a person because I think she is down to earth, and very much unlike the professional class of politicians. I don't know any "patricians" whose teenage daughters keep their unexpected babies or sons who volunteer to join the army in the final throes of an unpopular but potentially still winable war. You could say that's the kids, not Sarah, but I think it's all related. Politically, you could get the same basket of policies from one of her boring competitors, but I enjoy the personal aspect of it.

  I kind of assumed the Democrats were going to restore budget sanity, as part of their general "restoration" effort (respect abroad, etc.). But then I see we are going to borrow more than a trillion dollars, while the Germans, after foregoing any stimulus, agreed to borrow a measley 1% of GDP to appease their fiesta loving Euro partners. We need more of that over here. So yes, I'm pushing for it from my little corner of the world.

  I'm sorry I can't give you anything more on Palin. That's all there is, for me. I think she is more than competent to be a strong, center-right political figure in the mode of Angela Merkel of Germany (also a non-professional leader). And that would be just fine with me. Plus, of course, I really think she has exceptional personal qualities.

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