Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
I've just come back from the US - missing you already - where I spent a few days hanging with some of my favorite Ricocheters–Diane Ellis, Peter Robinson, Blue Yeti–and testing the water of US conservatism. I returned more depressed than I have possibly been about anything, ever. The Conservative/Libertarian half of America understands, even if the other half doesn't, that the next presidential election is the most important in your history. Get this one wrong and that's it - game over.
So what I came away appreciating perhaps more than I had before is the importance of that thing you all keep banging on about: electability. I still think you obsess far too much about details like "experience" (in my book, "experienced" equates to "steeped in the moral corruption and compromise of the political machine"; and lets not forget - Ronald Reagan wasn't Ronald Reagan till he became president). What I believe matters far more is direction of travel. It doesn't matter a jot, if, say 9 9 9 isn't perfectly formed yet, or even if it was scrawled in 9 seconds on the back of an envelope. The bit that matters is the bit that says: "This guy is serious about getting the economy working. He is not another corporatist".
You'll see from that last remark I've still got the hots for Cain. And you know, I wouldn't be displeased either if Ron Paul started winning primaries. Yeah, yeah, I know your objections and I'm certainly with you on Iran. But he is the number one opponent of your number one problem: crazed Keynesian deficit spending.
Then again - as I've finally come round grudgingly to conceding - if it has to be Romney, it has to be Romney. I still personally think he's another David Cameron*, who let me tell you gets worse by the day and is beginning to achieve positively Obama-like levels of hideous awfulness. But look, put it this way, if he is your chosen Republican candidate it won't be the end of the world. Whereas another Obama presidency will.
*Guess what our "conservative" leader's latest plan is to fix the UK economy. This is not a joke, I promise. He wants to introduce taxpayer funded sub-prime mortgages.
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Aug '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
I agree with you completely with respect to the 'experience' requirement. When the government has so much influence in the private economy, you would think that experience in the private sector would be at least as important as experience measured in the number of years someone has voted in a legislative chamber.
The political debate in the U.S. will be much healthier when the people look at a Presidential candidate who went from college to a 30 year career in Washington and say, "yes, but what real experience does he have?"
I'll vote for a businessman with no experience in Washington over a politician with no experience in business, every time.
Feb '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
James Delingpole:
*Guess what our "conservative" leader's latest plan is to fix the UK economy. This is not a joke, I promise. He wants to introduce taxpayer funded sub-prime mortgages. ·
Fannie and Freddie were run by uncouth semi-literate provincials incapable of speaking English correctly. Cameron's program will be run by suave sophisticated European technocrats, sober men of substance. It can't possibly fail.
Feb '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
James,
Come now, Cain has disqualified himself with his apparent ignorance of basic foreign policy issues. Did you see his infamous Libya interview? His standard rejoinder is that he will defer to his "experts". But how will he decide who to appoint to his FP staff in the first place? And experts often wrong. Cain would be beholden to his advisors and cabinet staff. We deserve much better from our Commander in Chief.
Mar '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
If congress actually had the balls to impeach federal judges or defund them then the idea the Obama winning another term is the end of the world would be non-sense. However because the legislator has allowed the judiciary to take over and let their tyranny rein then that argument has some good bases.
However, what is Romney’s history of the judges he appointed as governor? I don't know what it is but it would not surprise me if his record made him look like a democratic governor. So I think the difference between Romney and Obama is overstated other than Romney is a more competent and therefore would stand a better chance of further advancing a socialist agenda verses Obama failer to pass his modern Marxist agenda.
Edited on Nov 21, 2011 at 9:42amJan '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
Glad to hear you've broadened your perspective, James, even though I think you could afford to open it up a bit more. While I see the appeal of Cain in terms of charisma and hawkishness on fiscal reform, I think you consistently underweight the importance of the president's responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief and leader of the free world.
These are actually the number one priorities of a president, domestic issues take a distant second in terms of the president's purview. Unlike a prime minister, the president does not lead the legislature nor can he control it. The leaders of Congress drive domestic policy and will be the one's who determine the outcome of GOP attempts to right our fiscal ship. Yes, the president can use the bully pulpit to push and cajole the legislature, but that weapon isn't so potent as you suppose (see Bush, George W., second term social security reform).
Championing Cain's budgetary bona fides while ignoring the gaping deficits in and almost disturbing confusion of his foreign policy ideas misses the mark on what qualifies one to be POTUS. Experience can be overrated, but so too is a winning personality.
Edited on Nov 21, 2011 at 9:45amAug '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
The argument against that is, "Why would you assume a President is capable of making judgments that are better than what trained military and foreign policy experts would make?"
The mark of a good executive is knowing when to delegate, and who to delegate to. Cain doesn't have to be an expert on foreign policy to appoint excellent foreign policy people - he just has to be smart, to have the right basic values, and to be a good judge of character. He also has to be able to build up a 'brain trust' and be smart enough to know when to defer to it, while still accepting responsibility for its decisions.
Cain answers the way he does precisely because he has an executive temperament. As the CEO of a corporation, if he has to make a decision on whether to modernize a factory or sell off a division, he doesn't have to be an expert in factory engineering or knowledgeable in the intricate details of how a division operates - he appointed people to make that determination. His job is to lead, set the corporate tone, give good people freedom of action, and to accept responsibility for the result.
Oct '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
My objection to Cain is that even if you concede (which I don't) that he's good on domestic policy, he's ignorant when it comes to foreign policy. I can't think of a time when the United States has ever had the luxury of putting a candidate this deficient in office, but given the current state of world affairs, Cain is easily disqualified by his lack of seriousness when it comes to foreign policy. You don't even have to wrestle with the harassment allegations against him when he's demonstrably unqualified for the job just based on his limited knowledge of critical issues.
Jan '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
I just can't go with you on that assessment. First, if he doesn't really understand foreign policy, how will he be able to judge which experts he should pick. To wit, he recently claimed he would like to make 88 year old Henry Kissinger his Secretary of State - YIKES! Also, experts disagree quite often. At that point a president needs to fall back on his own judgement and considered reasoning on the issues and circumstances. We don't want someone in the WH applying his smarts and values to these matters for the first time. He needs to have waded into the history of the world's problems, who the various players are, and how the US should be positioning itself globally sufficiently to be able to make informed judgements.
Edited on Nov 21, 2011 at 9:55amSep '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
But he also must know and understand basic facts. In his interview when the Libya question came up he showed that he really had no idea about Libya. How many of us would have been caught in such a moment? I would bet that any Ricocheter knew most of the answer to that question. And how many of us knew what the third department was that Perry forgot?
This informaiton should roll off their tongues, not because they rehearsed like some dufus actor, but because they know what they believe.
Executive know the basic facts and realities and leave the details to subordinates. Cain didn't even know the basic facts.
Sep '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
Actually, Ronald Reagan was "Ronald Reagan" for at least fifteen to twenty years before he was elected.President. You need only go back to his '64 speeches for Goldwater to see that. Sooooo, any old body without political experience might be able to be a great president, but that doesn't describe Governor Reagan.
Sep '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
I still like Cain the best because 999 gets at the heart of the matter - it eliminates government power on a massive scale by eliminating the power to manipulate our actions through the tax code. No one else really comes close to this.
As for the Libya gaffe, whatever. The guy has good instincts and points in the right directions. I'm not all that wound up about how much he knows on that topic. Right now, the biggest foreign policy issues of the next 4 years will be the salvation of the banking system and sovereign loan situation. He wins that contest going away.
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
K T Cat: I still like Cain the best because 999 gets at the heart of the matter - it eliminates government power on a massive scale by eliminating the power to manipulate our actions through the tax code. No one else really comes close to this.
As for the Libya gaffe, whatever. The guy has good instincts and points in the right directions. I'm not all that wound up about how much he knows on that topic. Right now, the biggest foreign policy issues of the next 4 years will be the salvation of the banking system and sovereign loan situation. He wins that contest going away. · Nov 21 at 10:35am
I agree. It seems to me - and I know I'm guilty of this too - that everyone pre-constructs their narrative on particular candidates and then cherry-picks the evidence to support it. So, if you're suspicious of Cain and you think Mitt is a safer pair of hands, of course you're going to place the most tremendous importance on holes in his foreign knowledge. And if you like Cain, say, you won't think it matters a jot.
Dec '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
James Delingpole
I agree. It seems to me - and I know I'm guilty of this too - that everyone pre-constructs their narrative on particular candidates and then cherry-picks the evidence to support it. So, if you're suspicious of Cain and you think Mitt is a safer pair of hands, of course you're going to place the most tremendous importance on holes in his foreign knowledge. And if you like Cain, say, you won't think it matters a jot. · Nov 21 at 10:39am
We do tend to project a bit. I wonder at times how much of my love of Perry and loathing of Romney is simply my Texas cotton farming childhood coloring my perception. I suppose the difference between me and the libs is that I ask the question and try to account for such effects in my decision making process.
Jul '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
Ooh, another Romney post...betcha this gets to at least 4 pages.
May '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
You may, I assume, be forgiven your slander of Reagan by pleading your youth. But I worked for the University of California while he was governor. I can assure you that Reagan was Reagan before he was President. Indeed, his performance as President was of a piece with his performance as Governor. And that is precisely why experience is important. The best index of what a person will do is what they have done.
Dec '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
So where does that leave each candidate? Will Newt default to cuddling with Pelosi? Will Romney transpose his love of Romneycare onto Obamacare? It's all a craps shoot, and each set of dice is loaded, the trick is knowing which set is loaded in our favor.
Mar '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
James Delingpole:
Then again - as I've finally come round grudgingly to conceding - if it has to be Romney, it has to be Romney. I still personally think he's another David Cameron*, who let me tell you gets worse by the day and is beginning to achieve positively Obama-like levels of hideous awfulness.
I have to respectfully disagree - Mr Cameron is not in the same league of awfulness as Mr Obama. Only Mr Livingstone (ex and hopefully-not-future mayor of London), in the UK, is in that league. Well, I can think of a few others.
But the analogy between Mr Cameron and Mr Romney is a good one.
I am afraid I threw Mr Cain under the bus, because of his lack of knowledge of the world outside the US -- it just got too much. He would still make a good VP.
If the attacks on Newt succeed, then indeed we will be left with Mr Romney -- kinda depressing, but not the end of the world.
If people don't vote for Mr Romney, or Dr Paul runs as an independent -- that's the end of the world as we know it.
Oct '10
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
David Williamson
I am afraid I threw Mr Cain under the bus, because of his lack of knowledge of the world outside the US -- it just got too much. He would still make a good VP.
I respectfully disagree. The vice president needs to be ready to move into the presidential slot at a moments notice and be able to fully perform the job. Anyone who isn't qualified to be president (and Cain clearly is not) is not qualified to be vice president.
Mar '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
As we can see at the moment, the Senate leader and President can effectively block the leaders of Congress -- otherwise the Ryan budget would now be in effect and Obamacare would be repealed.
Instead, we have the "Super"-committee, which was doomed to fail.
The fiscal issues will not improve until after the next election - hopefully.
Mar '11
Re: Delingpole Flip Flops on Romney. Well Almost
Publius
David Williamson
I am afraid I threw Mr Cain under the bus, because of his lack of knowledge of the world outside the US -- it just got too much. He would still make a good VP.
I respectfully disagree. The vice president needs to be ready to move into the presidential slot at a moments notice and be able to fully perform the job. Anyone who isn't qualified to be president (and Cain clearly is not) is not qualified to be vice president.
Good point - OK, Mr Cain is fully under the bus.