Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

"Belief" is the problem, not the solution, imho. Esp. w/ Bush. I'd rather have a rational president who is decisive but able to incorporate varying points of view (including, say, FACTS) before setting policy or making decisions.

Brian, sure. And being able to incorporate facts and various points of view should result in beliefs that are held not merely for political convenience. Dean, imo, has been admirable in his willingness to change his mind when new facts have emerged (or when he was just plain wrong). He stresses to his staff that he makes decisions as a doctor: evaluate all the known facts and then decide. So, I don't see a conflict between what you and I have said...

That's actually the precise reason, David, that so many people have had so much difficulty in figuring out whether Dean is right, left, conservative, or liberal.

There's a substantial aspect to his positions which stems not from ideology but rationality. And in this day and age, no "expert" in our modern political machinery has been able to rise to the challenge of seeing that.

As an addendum: That's also why Dean alienates hardcore leftists with his lack of support for a "bring our troops home NOW" policy. Unlike reflexive lefties, Dean understands that to do so would only court inevitable disaster.

Oddly (as I recently pointed out in comments at Talk Left), the same people who want U.S. troops out of Iraq right now, no matter what, tend to be the exact same people who criticize U.S. foreign policy for going on adventures around the world and then abandoning people when we're done with them.

I'd argue that such an attitude is childish, but I wouldn't want to offend any of the children I know.

Actually, you might be able to spook a far-lefty into agreement by pointing out that their isolationist policies are in alignment with Pat Buchanan.

Yeeeshh.

Somehow I doubt that. Extreme leftists (and, don't get me wrong, I'm firmly within the left end of the political spectrum) reside in an unreality bubble every bit as dense and resistant as that often carried around by libertarians.

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