Two, Three, Many Obamas

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

As the campaign heats up, one problem is that we continue to meet lots of different Barack Obamas — to such a degree that we don’t know which, if any, is really president. Continue reading “Two, Three, Many Obamas”

It Was the Power, Stupid!

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

I. Power — Always Was and Always Will Be

In my dumber days, between 2001-2008, I used to wonder why the Left relentlessly hammered the war on terror (e.g., renditions, tribunals, predators, preventative detention, Patriot Act, intercepts, wiretaps, Guantanamo Bay) when these measures had not only proven quite useful in preventing another 9/11-like attack, but had been sanctioned by both the Congress and the courts. In those ancient times, I was not as cynical as I am now. Continue reading “It Was the Power, Stupid!”

The New Reactionaries

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

Our New Regressivism

About fifteen years ago, many liberals began to self-identify as progressives — partly because of the implosion of the Great Society and the Reagan reaction that had tarnished the liberal brand and left it as something akin to “permissive” or “naïve,” partly because “progressive” was supposedly an ideological rather than a political identification, and had included some early twentieth-century Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover [1]. Continue reading “The New Reactionaries”

All Fall Down

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

The temple of postmodern liberalism was rocked these last few weeks, as a number of supporting columns and buttresses simply crashed, leaving the entire edifice wobbling. Continue reading “All Fall Down”

Sitting Out Obama

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

We recently saw lots of sit-down strikes and demonstrations — the various efforts in Wisconsin, the Occupy movements, and student efforts to oppose tuition hikes. None of them mattered much or changed anything. Continue reading “Sitting Out Obama”

Mr. Obama’s 99%: Are We Poor or Just Unequal or Both or Neither?

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

The 2012 campaign is heating up and we can see the outlines of an impending us/them class war. But in our strange 21st-century world, lots of crazy things blur the president’s 1%/99% divide. Continue reading “Mr. Obama’s 99%: Are We Poor or Just Unequal or Both or Neither?”

Postmodern Populism

by Victor Davis Hanson

NRO’s The Corner

Newt Gingrich soaring in the polls 90 days ago — with an inspired strategy of critiquing Obama, reprimanding the left-wing media during the debates, playing down his ego while showing mastery of the issues, and calling for an end to internecine bickering — stumbled for a while under the natural negative ads that always target the perceived front runner of the moment. Did he not expect that? Continue reading “Postmodern Populism”

‘When the Legend Becomes Fact, Print the Legend’

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

Obama Mythologos

Barack Obama is a myth, our modern version of Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan. What we were told is true, never had much basis in fact — a fact now increasingly clear as hype gives way to reality. Continue reading “‘When the Legend Becomes Fact, Print the Legend’”

Obama’s Imaginarium

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

The presidency of Barack Obama is full of funny things that need not follow any sort of logic. Continue reading “Obama’s Imaginarium”

The News Behind the News: From Herman Cain to Blue Wall Street

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

It Doesn’t Add Up

Here are some things in the daily news that do not quite make sense. Continue reading “The News Behind the News: From Herman Cain to Blue Wall Street”