Views from the Designated Adult

That's what I call Rich Lowry, the hand picked successor to Bill Buckley as editor of the National Review. Whenever he talks about partisan politics he descends into incoherence (in my view) but when talking about straight forward policy analysis can make some honest sense. He is one of the few denizens of "The Corner" who can actually be invited on national TV and I don't think it is solely because of his young good looks. Here he is today:

The Bush years will be remembered for the cruel triumph of realism over illusion.

One of the era’s great illusions was spun by President Bush — that the force of freedom was so irresistible, it would prevail in a place like Iraq even in the absence of law and order. Bush himself eventually realized his mistake. The second illusion — fed by anyone who possibly could get rich from it — is bursting now.

"The cruel triumph of realism over illusion." A great motto for an historian.

it's a shame my university's administration decided to drop the history requirement for freshmen. In academia, illusion can indeed triumph over realism ... for awhile. Hmm. What a conservative thing to say.

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