Boyd

This is a great site. Today's feast:

...the political climate is inhospitable to plans for shrinking government; the entitlement problem guarantees that federal spending will grow, in one way or another, for years to come; and the right squandered an opportunity, over the course of the last decade, that may not come around again for a long time. But defeats are also opportunities. Today's small-government conservatives tend to present their ideas as bitter pills, to be swallowed by a reluctant electorate. They need to remember—as Reagan instinctively knew—that theirs isn't just a language of limits, of discipline and restraint. The small-government movement is a potent force in our politics for a reason: its promise of freedom, self-reliance, and individual initiative is deeply-rooted in the American character.

There's some truth here. The optimist in politics who preaches freedom and initiative has tremendous power. The problem he faces in America 2006 is that with each passing year there are more folks to wean from the government teat. It's going to take some serious motivation (or a major economic crisis) to get them to trade security, however conjured it may be, for self-reliance. We'll find out soon how deep the roots of our American character run or if we're just the beneficiaries of giants who came before.