Bush's Third Term

I hope the folks who sported the "No Third Term" bumper stickers in the Fall of last year as tasting the buyer's remorse. President Obama is changing so little besides the names we call certain policies. It's so apparent, that even the commentators on the Left can help but notice it.



Three cheers for Rachel Maddow! I deeply respect her integrity for this report. It would have been easy enough for her to report on Obama's anti-Bush remarks while sweeping the subtance that makes Obama's policies exactly the same as Bush's under the rug. Change, my eye!

So, what about the Right? From Gene Healy at Cato at Liberty:

Since Rich Lowry, Karl Rove, and Charles Krauthammer have all admitted that Obama’s anti-terror policies are substantially the same as Bush’s, I assume they’ll refrain from arguing that Obama’s making the country less safe, and they’ll hold the recriminations if and when there’s another terrorist attack. Right?

I wouldn't hold my breath.

Excellent Convention

I spent Saturday in Clarksville, Indiana (north of the Ohio River of Louisville) for the joint conventions of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, and of Kentucky. I was rather impressed.

Right off the top, I liked the cost savings made available by working jointly. Rather than having two sets of expenses, one set allowed for more money to be allocated for speakers, and I have no doubt that the quality of them had a great deal to do with the record attendance for an off-year, where not a single candidate for office was nominated. I also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss regional differences with our neighbors to the south.

I suspect the attendance growth also can be explained by the sense I get of growing dissatisfaction with the two older parties. There were many new faces among the Indiana delegates.

But due to my 2006 campaign for Secretary of State, it was terrific to be with so many of the people who worked alongside me, and in support of me. I only wish I could have stayed an extra day.

On to business, the convention was a gold mine of interview subjects for the podcast. In no particular order, I interviewed:

Al Cox, Brown County
Ed Coleman, Indianapolis
Ryan Liedtke, St Joseph County
Doug Horner, Fort Wayne
Rebecca Sink-Burris, Bloomington
Sam Goldstein, Chair, Libertarian Party of Indiana
Ken Moellman, Chair, Libertarian Party of Kentucky
Luke McKellar, Ohio Central Committe Chair
Wayne Allyn Root, candidate for President 2012

I also recorded the speeches of:

Daniel Williams, on drug policy
Goldstein, acceptance speech
Radley Balko, Senior Editor, Reason Magazine
Root, on the media and his campaign

Look for much to come from the convention on the podcast in the next several weeks!