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January 2, 2012

Instapundit: Things are looking up

At the tail end of 1979, things looked worse. But shortly thereafter America was rebounding, and the rest of the world was doing better, too.
People credit Ronald Reagan for this change, but I think that Reagan was as much a symptom as a cause. People were sick of stagnation and bad government, and they demanded more -- from their governments, and from themselves. I think we'll see that again in 2012, and that's why, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, I think it will turn out to be a better year than seems likely today. --Sunday Reflection: When muddling through is the best you can hope for | Glenn Harlan Reynolds | Columnists | Washington Examiner

Posted by gerardvanderleun at January 2, 2012 5:13 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

Jimmy Carter was incompetent.

Barak Obama is malevolent.

I think it's very important to make the distinction. It's going to matter. Recovery will not be a simple matter of better policy. The cancers lovingly sprinkled across the Federal bureaucracy by the Obama/Jarrett/Ayers crew are designed to bring down the system. They aren't bad policy - they are attacks.

Posted by: TmjUtah at January 2, 2012 5:27 PM

I agree with the principle that the resurgence of America under Reagan was something that happened with him and he was a result of it rather than the other way around. Certainly the fragile emergence of pride and America would have been destroyed by a President Mondale or another term of Carter, but presidents are a reflection of society, not so much a leader and guide.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at January 2, 2012 7:02 PM

Well said TMJ. Likewise, the author is full of shit no matter how exalted his throne. Reagan gave hope where there was none, and he had Volker constrict the money supply, and that allowed the economy to come into balance and grow again. When the tide came in, all boats rose. Thank you Art Laffer.

Posted by: Casca at January 2, 2012 7:03 PM

Mr. Taylor, agree strongly on "reflection of society".

A Republic demands public virtue. That quality is scarce right now.

Our political class makes "Revenge of the Nerds" look like Shakespeare.

Posted by: TmjUtah at January 2, 2012 7:19 PM

Re: A Republic demands public virtue

A key difference between America in 1979 and 2012: my generation. I do not think a resurgence is likely in these United States.

Posted by: HPP at January 2, 2012 7:53 PM

Carter's malevolence is only tempered by his incompetence. Obama is incompetent, malevolent, and the Democrats are as a whole. There is far more corruption, and what we are looking for is just a David with some big cajones to take on the Goliath. History is full of stories where knocking out the one, the head of evil, causes the cowards who only seem brave, to run. Would anyone argue that we are governed by men and women who are fearless? They may be lawless and impervious to criticism, but they aren't brave. We need to be those brave men and women.
When the muscle comes around, you might be surprised how quickly it flees in the face of a fearless little dog.

Posted by: Jewel at January 2, 2012 9:02 PM

Jewel -

This administration isn't incompetent per se. They are doing exactly what they set out to do.

We just refuse to allow ourselves to accept the agenda unfolding before us.

Watching MSM enable all this is like watching a codependent spouse bring home booze for his/her partner. Then getting kicked shitless right there in front of the neighbors because he/she didn't get the right brand.

And they fix their tie or lipstick and run right back to the corner store... three bags full.

MSM is in the same boat as is our credentialed financial elite. They have corrupted their profession to the extent they show up simply because they don't know what else to do. Somebody keeps signing checks, those Audi leases still need to get paid, and if they don't get their kids into an Ivy what will the Jones' think...

Deck chairs. Titanic. The end of the music.

Did no one actually read "Dreams" and "Audacity"? What "journalist" could ignore twenty years of antisemetic, racist, marxist ravings from Wright? What journalist never heard of "the Long March through the instituions" and then didn't notice that accessory to murder terrorist William Ayers launched Obama's career???

Even "the Chicago Way" isn't a mark of shame against this crew. It's how they get the job done.

We shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. Nobody who read "Mein Kampf" seemed too shook up, either. That came later and then all the Best and Brightest clucked their tongues and wondered why nobody did anything.

Posted by: TmjUtah at January 2, 2012 9:20 PM

You may well be right. It's one thing to quote Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing"....and then follow that line of thought.

Posted by: Jewel at January 2, 2012 9:37 PM

Bravo TmjUtah! Remember, once the economy was recovered people set about electing one dufus after another to experiment with the country. People learn nothing from their bad experience except "somebody ought to do something" (it doesn't matter what they do so much as people *feel* that person is trying).

Sizable portions of Obama's votes came from people that threw Jimmah out of office in a landslide. If the economy recovers, once people feel the next bubble is destined to last forever they will demand more stupid ideas, RIGHT NOW. If they were capable of learning from mistakes they wouldn't keep making the same ones over and over. Repeated bad outcomes are seldom because people don't know better, but because those people don't want to know better and they will not hear otherwise. "What do you mean I can't quite my job at McDs and become a real estate mogul? I already own 3 McMansions. I refinance them every 6 months whether I need it or not."

Posted by: Scott M at January 3, 2012 2:10 AM

From the Belmont post above this sidebar, the Three Conjectures, It's a look at whether societies can face the threat of nuclear terrorism without resorting to the same ruthlessness as their enemies.

Forget the nuclear part, can and/or will we deal with the Left on their own terms. Getting your gonads kicked up into your throat because you hold the 'high road' position is a losing proposition.

You fight the war using their rules; they're not going to fight by yours.

Obama et.al. care not for nice; they care about WINNING.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 3, 2012 6:17 AM

To amplify on Anonymous' point about fighting; the traits that make Conservatives nice neighbors, etc, is exactly what makes them chumps in a battle.

The Left recognizes no rules, no limits, and nothing is out of bounds. Conservatives are so cowed and on the defensive that they often won't even say something as innocuous as "the black guy" when speaking about the only black man in some group. They'll use every other possible characteristic rather than mention the obvious one, if that trait is the frequent source of attacks against Conservatives.

Stop taking pride in what docile sheep we are. Stop waiting for the next outrage to happen that you fantasize will cause reality to come into focus for others. The Commie-libs, even the "nice ones", routinely call the mildest member of our team the most vicious of names on some pretense. Our side often won't even use an accurate description of an opponent for fear of some vague unpleasantness. If our battle is worth winning it is worth fighting like the outcome is important, not within outdated boundaries that only serve to guarantee we feel nice about our selves when we lose.

NOBODY is joining Conservatives because they play fair. Most people are getting their impressions from commie-lib media and Hollywood. The man hasn't been born that can be so nice and reasonable so as to avoid being labeled a racist, war-mongering, bigoted homophobe, islamophobe, xenophobe. Aunt Bea herself would be labeled a rampaging lunatic if that is what serves the commie-lib goal.

Your going to be called every name in the book, just because you aren't a commie-lib. You might as well fight like a man and earn the hatred they will send your way.

Have you yelled at a liberal today? Why not? If not now, when. If not you, then who?

Posted by: Scott M at January 4, 2012 2:43 AM

The entire world wants a weak US President at their very own peril. Do the Americans want a weak President? I hope not. nCutter, diverting the attention within the weak Obama economy. It can be often the same BS. To not talk with regard to the economy at any charge. What matters would be to preserve the power so the far left can transform and destroy this country.

Posted by: Devon Mesiona at October 27, 2012 11:56 PM

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