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Obama and the Role of Government

By Philip Klein on 11.5.08 @ 2:24PM

In my article on the main site, I suggest that people who voted for Obama out of an abstract desire for change may not be on board if he tries to govern from the far left. If you look at exit polls, it turns out that only a slight majority of the country -- 51 percent -- said that government "should do more." While I'd prefer a lower number, I hardly think this counts as a mandate for a sweeping expansion of the federal government. I know that progressive activists will try to push Obama in that direction, but if he follows their agenda, I imagine he'll meet stiff resistance among the general public.

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Real American| 11.5.08 @ 5:25PM

if you consider that the exit polls tend to skew towards more Democrat demographics, you're probably safe in assuming that less than a majority of the country thinks the government should do more.

Edwin Lutz| 11.5.08 @ 5:31PM

No! "People" today are wandering in a morass among intellectual wreckage. Underlying anxiety over no real philosophical guidance occasionally crops up as panic. The Left is fueled by the panic, they push their policies then. The vacant minded herd in America is not looking for a political system, left or right, but an answer to the "now" panic. The Left is just happy to feed them a solution, regardless of the consequences, as long as it matches the intensity of the moment. Unfortunately, as we saw with the large crowds and Obama mania, people are panicked. The question is not what policies the Left will pass or not, but can they cash in on the panic and still keep it smoldering. The Left will be in power as long as the panic is in place. The policies they push through will be equal to the intensity of panic. The Right must fill the intellectual vacuum to end the panic. The religious right has been quelled by cultural relativism and has not filled the vacuum with religious and traditional values. What is needed by the Right is a return to reason, and a naked promotion of reason as an answer.

Jan| 11.5.08 @ 6:25PM

I don't understand why the yuppies all voted for Obama. They don't think they pay enough taxes already? Why wouldn't they reflexively vote for their own self interest? They need some simple Reaganite economic lessons.

If they feel so guilty about their good fortune they should increase their donations to charity.
My yuppie children and their spouses voted Republican, but that's taken years of education.
It's not a hopeless cause.