Experience Rules: Comments on the Obama v. Cheney Debate by Augustine 25

I read through the speeches by Obama and Cheney. It was clear to me that Cheney outperformed Obama, in large measure, because Cheney knows what he is doing…

The first thing I would say is that Cheney was perhaps too modest about the results of the tough on terrorist approach of the Bush administration. Under their approach, Libya flipped to being a peaceful influence in the world and Iran dramatically slowed its progress on nukes. Unfortunately, I think it is sometimes difficult to claim credit for these successes, if only because we do not want to embarrass the folks who bent under U.S. pressure. Nevertheless, it seems silly not to call attention to those who reacted positively to U.S. resolve now that Obama is charting a new, more dangerous course. In this vein, I do not think it is wrong to call attention to the two U.S. female journalists currently being held hostage in North Korea as evidence of Obama’s weakness.

Next, Cheney was right to call attention to the persistence of terrorists who attacked U.S. interests prior to 9-11. The fact that we have been quite safe since 9-11 is remarkable evidence that the Bush administration did the right thing and that Cheney is right to suggest: “In the fight against terrorism there is no middle ground, and half measures keep you half-exposed.”

Third, Obama’s speech was timed to minimize the impact of Cheney’s words. Cheney had scheduled the speech well in advance and Obama dropped right on top of it – on purpose – with the aim of lessening Cheney’s impact. Obama’s effort looks all the more weak and defensive because of the role that Senate Democrats played in slowing down his plans to shut down the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp by cutting off funding for that effort. This was a huge embarrassment to Obama and he and his staff felt they needed to take public action. Historically, this is similar to LBJ scheduling presidential announcements to undercut Sen. Robert Kennedy’s charisma, visibility, and campaign efforts.

Finally, I was very pleased that Cheney used this brief moment of national attention to “leak” the truth about Speaker Pelosi.

“On numerous occasions leading members of Congress, including the current Speaker of the House, were briefed on the program and on the methods,” Mr. Cheney said. He also pointed out: “Some members of Congress are notorious for demanding they be briefed into the most sensitive intelligence programs. They support them in private, and then head for the hills at the first sign of controversy.” In my view, these comments show that Cheney is still on the job, protecting the United States.

Ideas for a Republican Resurgence: Understanding the True Roots of Poverty

The wealthy, of course, have a lot of financial cushions to protect themselves from irresponsible decisions. The rest of us, however, need to be careful and cautious if we are going to thrive and leave some wealth behind for our children and grandchildren. In my view, neither “redistribution” or “trickle down” is going to reduce poverty caused by bad decisions among poor and middle class individuals.

If Republicans are going to regain power, they are going to need to do it by pursuing ideas that are realistic, will pay-off, and which Democrats cannot afford to endorse because it harms their political base. Accordingly, the issue of school choice is ideal for Republicans because the public schools are a disaster and Democrats cannot embrace real reform because of their ties to the teacher unions. Just because McCain lost doesn’t mean that he was wrong to suggest school choice was the Civil Rights issue of our century.

Another hot idea is to fight any attempts to rollback welfare reform and efforts to encourage single motherhood. Ann Coulter has some great stuff in her new book, Guilty, that documents the damage done by single mothers. Attacking single motherhood makes the case that our economic prosperity will advance through changes in behavior at the personal level. Our heros ought to be married couples that adopt, couples that stay together for the sake of the children, and folks that repair their marriages as they become clean and sober. Whenever, Obama tries to lean on the single motherhood issue…he gets blow-back from Rev. Jackson…who fathered an out-of-wedlock child with his mistress.

Finally, I’m 100% against any effort to blame the U.S. for poverty in developing nations. These countries tolerate child labor and don’t enforce compulsory schoolng. We can dump all the money we want on them, but we won’t see any change in prosperity until they clean up their own behavior. Stopping child labor is one of the keys to becoming a civilized society…we should insist on this now as a precondition for any aid we provide overseas.

Who Is the Anonymous Political Scientist?

Augustine 25 is the anonymous political scientist. He is an award winning scholar with a track-record of producing innovative and easy-to-understand work that changes the way people think about the world. He has taught at a number of the nation’s most elite schools and comments regularly through blogs including those at the New York Times.