The Pursuit

Some liberal thinkers and commentators are starting to change their tune on Ronald Reagan. In an interesting interview, left-leaning historian Sean Wilentz argues that Ronald Reagan was transformational in how he shaped American politics. Conservative commentator George Will also chimes in during the interview transcript, making for a nice dialogue with Wilentz. The two explore Reagan’s legacy in relation to the Cold War, his impact on the tax code, and economics. This article is also timely as it relates to the 2008 election, with both Barack Obama and John McCain invoking Ronald Reagan in their respective campaigns.
in Newsweek by Evan Thomas, 12 May 2008
This abstract was edited by Brijit. Read more here…

Clearly Barack Obama is a reader of The Pursuit. One day after a post by Candy suggesting Obama cut ties to the nutjob known as Rev. Wright, he went out and essentially did that.

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I have begun writing for Brijit, a site that compiles abstracts of media sources. My first of many abstracts to come can be found on Sen. John McCain’s recent appearance on This Week with George Stephanopolous. It can be found below:

In this insightful segment, John McCain attacks Barack Obama’s relationship with a controversial activist. The presumptive Republican nominee says Obama should condemn the words of William Ayers, a college professor who was once a member of the violent Weather Underground group and served on the same charity board as Obama. McCain explains a controversial link of his own, saying it was mistake to accept the endorsement of ultra-conservative pastor Rev. John Hagee. McCain also defends his plans to cut taxes and said he would be able to save billions of taxpayer dollars by rejecting any unnecessary spending.
in This Week by George Stephanopoulos, 18 April 2008
This abstract was edited by Brijit. Read more here…

I have a guest column in the April newsletter for the George Washington University’s Educational Technology Leadership Student Organization. I explain some of the ways I am using technology and benefited from my master’s degree at GW. You can read the link here.

Just as I argued in a previous column, English professor Craig Bernthal details in a posting on Victor Davis Hanson’s site how the Episcopal Church is creating a new religion through its rewriting of 2,000 years of Christian orthodoxy. Read it here.

Peggy Noonan suggests in a column today that John McCain can gain even more ground in this election by announcing he will only serve one term. The argument goes that it would be an above-the-board kind of move, enabling him to take on issues he wouldn’t be able to otherwise. If he is already committed to not running for re-election, she argues, then the public may see him as more honest and committed to a higher purpose.

While there are of course advantages to having a president that is not bothered with re-election, you unfortunately would get what we have right now: an ineffective lame duck. While the idea of a six-year, one-term limit has been argued by other Constitutional reformists, it would be of no benefit to McCain in this case. It would reinforce the idea that he is too old to be president - something he is fighting hard right now to overcome.

Promising to be a one-term president would make McCain less appealing, not more. It would give Obama, Clinton, and the Democrats another target. Instead of a charging reformer who will clean up Washington, they will paint him as unequipped for the long haul: something McCain can’t afford in what will be a difficult race. Americans want a president who they believe is up for the toughest job in the world. Voters will wonder about the effectiveness of a president be who is already announcing his retirement date before he even takes office.

The Olympic torch made its recent ill-fated visit to San Francisco. Yet torchbearers acted more like celebrities dodging the paparazzi. It was all thanks to the perpetual protest culture in San Francisco, which found yet another target: Red China.

Don’t get me wrong, but China is worthy of protest: it has rampant human-rights violations, hardball trade policies and stringent communist rule. But do we really need to take it out on Herschel Walker? Thanks to the angry mob, a ceremony was canceled and the torch route was more twisted and confusing than Lombard Street. I’m sure Tibet is one step closer to freedom.

While San Francisco was chosen for its large Chinese-American population, organizers should have considered its even larger population of professional protesters. Keep in mind it is neighbor to Berkeley, which recently gained fame for telling the Marines they weren’t welcome (even Iran hasn’t gone that far). While the torch was met with protests in other international cities, it was lucky it didn’t get extinguished in the protest capital of the world. Could there have been a worse place in the entire country to have this event? There was only one place to have this thing: it’s called anywhere else.

Apparently a Blackberry is no mere organizational tool: it makes you a better person.

Looks like the White House press secretary needs a history refresher.

Although, she gets points for a decent cover during the press conference.

For those wanting an intellectual discussion (which there is a dearth of in Fresno), check out the upcoming Veritas Forum at Fresno State. In the past the annual event has hosted lively debates about the existence of God and other major philosophical and religious issues.

It looks like they’re changing direction a bit this year, with a focus on immigration. But this is a topic that deserves a look from an ethical perspective. While unchecked immigration is not healthy for any nation, neither is the denigration of an entire class of people. We need an honest discussion about those who came here, still want to, and are choosing to stay. Cheap sound bite answers, such as “enforcing the law” and suggesting all 12 million estimated illegals can be deported are useless for the public debate.

The panel looks interesting, and includes Bruce Thornton, a provocative and witty classics professor at Fresno State. He is one of about three conservative university professors nationwide. He’s a great antidote if you are sick of hearing Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson on television committing nonstop Obamafication.