Posted by Ilya Somin:
Richard Epstein on Obama;
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_10_19-2008_10_25.shtml#1224623171
Libertarian University of Chicago law Professor Richard Epstein has
some interesting thoughts about Barack Obama in [1]this column:
My Obama number is one. I know him through our association at the
University of Chicago Law School and through mutual friends in the
neighborhood. We have had one or two serious substantive
discussions, and when I sent him e-mails from time to time in the
early days of his Senate term, he always answered in a sensible and
thoughtful fashion. And yet, for assessing the course of his likely
presidency, I don't know him at all....
The dominant trope is that he will be a pragmatic president who
will move in small increments toward the center, not in bold steps
toward the left.
But is it all true? The short answer is that nobody knows.
Virtually everyone who knows him recognizes that he plays his cards
close to the vest, so that you can make your case to him without
knowing whether it has registered. At this point, my fear is that
the change in office will not lead to a change in his liberal
voting record, as reinforced by a hyperactive Democratic platform.
My great fear is that a landslide victory will give him solid
majorities in both Houses of Congress, so that no stalling tactics
by Republicans can slow down his legislative victory procession. At
that point his innate pragmatism will line up with his strong
left-of-center beliefs on issues that have thus far been muted
during the campaign.
Put otherwise, Obama's vague calls for change that "you can believe
in" are, to my thinking, wholly retrograde in their implications.
At heart, he is an unreconstructed New Dealer who can see, and
articulate, both sides on every question--but only as a prelude to
championing the old corporatist agenda with a vengeance.
Unlike Epstein, I don't know Obama personally. But his fears are
similar to mine. I don't believe that Obama is some kind of ogre,
socialist, or terrorist sympathizer; he seems like a skillfull leader
and a thoughtful person. And he has repeatedly shown that he is
willing to prioritize his own political success over any ideological
or personal agenda; in that respect, he's not much different from most
successful politicians. [2]I do, however, fear that the combined
impact of Obama's left-wing policy views, decisive Democratic control
of Congress, and a crisis atmosphere will lead to a large, difficult
to reverse, expansion of government. If Obama were checked by a
Republican Congress, as Bill Clinton was, I would be less concerned.
But such is not likely to be the case. The danger of an Obama
presidency is not so much the man himself as the political environment
he is likely to have around him.
References
1.
http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/10/20/obama-chicago-election-oped-cx_re_1021epstein.html
2. http://volokh.com/posts/1223680111.shtml
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