The American Spectator

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The Sobbing Hillary Supporter

By Hunter Baker on 8.28.08 @ 10:59AM

Yesterday, virtually any of you who listened to talk radio at all must have heard the CNN interview with a distressed Hillary supporter after the primetime speech at the convention.

One thing that particularly struck me was the woman's insistence that Hillary was going to give us the jobs and the economy we deserve. Every time I get wobbly on the entitlement state (because I'm a bleeding heart conservative), something like this comes along to stiffen my spine.

When will people come to understand that a president is not like some wizard pulling levers and producing a great economy? I can recall President Clinton acting as if the Paula and Monica scandals were somehow preventing him from keeping the American economy on track. Folks, it ain't like that. The economy represents the creation of value and productivity of efforts by American citizens in a system of relatively free exchange. The government is not doing the work.

Can the government facilitate? Yes. Can it occasionally make a very good and well-supported public works investment? Clearly. But the influence the government has is all at the margins. Not at the core. If you want the jobs and the economy you deserve, then find the people who are innovating, find the people who are generating value. Join them and forget politics, which is all too often a parasitical activity in an era of big government.