The Elephant in the Room

I am afraid that this is only going to get worse. What amazes me, however, is that we (in the collective political sense) ever believed that we could change the character of the place with some good intentions and the mobilization of a few divisions and camera-savvy general or two. Seriously. Who would ever believe that a self-described conservative-Republican (insert joke here) would ever strive toward such ends? Reagan and Gingrich-revolution be damned. I suppose it must be more empowering to govern like Wilson or LBJ, rather than Coolidge. I know. I know. It is quite cliché to throw around the term “neo-con” nowadays, especially when criticizing the Administration’s policies in the foreign realm; but, it is inescapable. A is A after all, and the current policy in Iraq is nothing less than social-engineering on a grand scale. What ever happened to the belief that government intervention is a bad thing? What was once the tried and true dogma of the conservative movement has become the antithesis of the Bush Doctrine and is, obviously, completely foreign to the contemporary Republican spend-thrifts in D.C. (Highway Bill anyone?). Man, what a difference a decade makes. Just 10 years ago Bill Clinton told us all that the “Era of Big Government is Over.” That very proclamation was spawned by the Republican takeover in Congress and a growing consensus among ordinary Americans that the only thing that government does well is break things. Well, that theorem has certainly proven true in Iraq. Nice going.