In Tech Central Station, Peter J. Wallison writes, “The Obama program has been attacked with the slogan ‘Where’s the beef?’ This attack is misplaced. There’s plenty of beef; the problem is that it’s very well-aged“:
What appears to qualify this candidacy as a candidacy of change is not the policies or programs it relies on but the fact that the same old ideas are coming from a new and telegenic messenger. It is no wonder, then, that this messenger has excited and attracted young people. If you’ve never heard this message before, and if you don’t have any background in the politics of the last two generations, you might think these ideas will be generally accepted. But anyone who has followed American politics over more than the last year knows that there is real disagreement in this country about the role of government, about trade, about taxes, about confronting the nation’s enemies. If Senator Obama is ultimately elected, and if his program ultimately adopted, it will certainly bring about change, but no one should be under the illusion that this is a message of reconciliation, or that the American people as a whole will rally around these ideas. Ask George McGovern.
Heck, at age 85, even McGovern’s sounding more up-to-date than Obama these days.
