Unite behind the President? Help him dig himself out?
Are you kidding?
Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.
Show me a Democrat who’s helped George W. Bush, and I’ll show you someone with Karl Rove’s knife in his back. And if we unite behind him, he will claim to be vindicated in his role as a uniter.
We should give our duly re-elected President the same loyalty the Republicans gave Bill Clinton.
Our goal should be to have Bush leave office with the popularity level of a Nixon (or a Truman) and be a long-term albatross around the neck of his party, as Carter and Clinton are around our necks. No lying is required to accomplish this; we just have to figure out a way of telling the truth persuasively.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
Yes, But…
Yes, not all Republican voters are troglodytes. Yes, Democrats shouldn't roll over and play dead. But let's be realistic…