Happy hour with Gene Healy
Yesterday OC Ed-in-Chief Ossie and I drove up to Kell’s Irish Pub in Portland to hear Gene Healy of the Cato Institute talk about his new book, The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power. The good folks at the America’s Future Foundation hosted the event.
Healy is a smart, funny guy, and we enjoyed throwing back some Guinness with him. I haven’t read the book yet, but everything he said last night was spot-on. In short, voters and politicians on both sides of the aisle need to get rid of the idea that the President is the daddy or mommy who will fix all their problems. I did have to disagree with Healy when he started bagging on Teddy Roosevelt, though. Ugly views on manifest destiny aside, Roosevelt was pretty awesome; he gave a 90-minute speech after being shot in the chest. C’mon, Hillary Clinton isn’t even that hardcore in her fantasies.
Where do intelligent people go wrong? That’s my question.
Is Politics a field that pulls logic and rational thought out of one’s head? I mean, hero-worship is one thing…but I think the President as Mommy or Daddy thing belongs in the Wink & Kink.
The AFF has been getting really active lately, so hopefully they’ll swing by in another year or so.
Resposibilities are teh suck.
Wow, I work right downtown. Next time give a heads up. (Of course, there won’t be a next time … but, you know, if there is. I can’t pay attention to this stuff anymore.)