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.
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.)
Resposibilities are teh suck.
The AFF has been getting really active lately, so hopefully they’ll swing by in another year or so.
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.