Obama-Rama

reason's recent coverage of the next president of the United States

With the historic election of Barack Obama as America's 44th president, we take a look back at reason's recent writing on the senator from Illinois.

The Curse of Illinois. The Blagojevich affair and Barack Obama. By Steve Chapman.

Obama's Numbers. The president-elect has promised to make his math add up. Therein lies a glimmer of possibility. By Matt Welch.

Obama's Clinton Problem. Deregulation made the prosperity of the 1990s possible. Just ask Bill Clinton. By John Berlau.

Don't Take Your Guns to Town. Will Attorney General Eric Holder respect the Second Amendment? By Damon W. Root.

Change He Can Believe In. Some unsolicited advice for Barack Obama. By Radley Balko.

Three Predictions for Obama's America. Will the next president be a game-changer or agent of the awful status quo? By Nick Gillespie.

Obama Should Swear Off Executive Privilege. Keeping his staff transparent and accountable would send a strong message about open government. By Radley Balko.

The Audacity of America. Obama's victory reflects the best in our nation. By Steve Chapman.

A Transformation on Race. Barack Obama's "post-racial" posture reflects a quiet but radical shift in liberal ideas about race in America. By Michael C. Moynihan.

Is There Any Hope For This Man? Assessments of Barack Obama from planet reason. By Katherine Mangu-Ward, Virginia Postrel, Brink Lindsey, Richard Epstein, Bruce Bartlett, Jonathan Rauch, and Deirdre McCloskey.

Obama's Destructive Crime Policy. The senator sounds some encouraging notes, then endorses a failed, familiar policy—more federalization of crime. By Radley Balko.

Obama's Toothless Second Amendment. The senator defends the right to whatever arms the government decides to allow. By Jacob Sullum.

Obama's Wars. Liberal interventionism makes a comeback. By David Weigel.

Obama Kids Sing for Change:The Pyongyang Remix

Partisan Politics and the Science-Industrial Complex. Measuring the Democratic and Republican Party platforms on science and technology policy. By Ronald Bailey.

Yes We Can Pander. Obama's Overlooked Cuba Speech. By Michael C. Moynihan.

Obama's Economic Mythology. Is the middle class really in decline? By Steve Chapman.

Supreme Anxiety. Do the Supreme Court strategies of Obama, Clinton, and McCain offer any reason to cheer? By Damon W. Root.

Beyond the Fairness Doctrine. Barack Obama says he wouldn't reintroduce the Federal Communications Commission's most notorious speech-squashing regulation. But there are more mundane reasons to fear the next FCC. By Jesse Walker.

Green Herring. Obama tries to hide the cost of his global warming solution. By Jacob Sullum.

Change We Can Believe In? A few questions for Barack Obama. By Radley Balko.

Purpose-Driven Pandering. McCain and Obama's self-serving answers at the Saddleback Forum. By Damon W. Root.

The Brave Young Things. What happens to political art if Obama wins? By Michael C. Moynihan.

Obama's Job Fetish: Beware any politician who promises to create new jobs. By Jacob Sullum.

Click here for more articles. And click here for Hit & Run posts.

Click below to watch Universal Preschool: A silver bullet for education reform or a waste of money?, a reason.tv documentary on a program for which Candidate Obama stumped heavily.

Comments

[TallDave]

Be sure to wipe Weigel's drool off before reading.

[geniusiknowit]

I don't get this "historic" thing. Another white male has been elected. Nothing has changed.

[TallDave]

Yeah, it's not like we haven't elect an Irishman before. I don't get it either.

[kwais]

Yeah something about the writers of reason being a bunch of socialists masquerading as libertarians.

[Marcvs]

TGIFO: Thank God It's Fucking Over

Just because your only choices for dinner are a bowl of diarrhea and big chunky log of shit, that doesn't mean you have to express a preference for one over the other.

[Conner]

Yeah guys, Reason has basically been an Obama Cheerleader Squad this entire election (with a couple of notable exceptions on the staff).

Well, ya got what you wanted, right? Oh wait, the Koolaid doesn't taste as good when it comes in a socialist glass? Ooowww Poor you, wah wah, governments getting bigger, wah wah.....

Maybe, you know, rejecting McCain (though he does sort of suck) wasn't like, the best thing to forward libertarian interests.

Hahaha, but obviously I'm one of those insane libertarians who cares about realpolitik and outcomes. Silly me. I wanted the guy who was less statist.

Good job, fellas.

[Ethan]

Maybe, you know, rejecting McCain (though he does sort of suck) wasn't like, the best thing to forward libertarian interests. Hahaha, but obviously I'm one of those insane libertarians who cares about realpolitik and outcomes. Silly me. I wanted the guy who was less statist. Good job, fellas.

I don't understand why people think McCain is less statist. You think invading Iran would make the US less statist? For McCain, that "something greater than ourselves" that we would all have to be onboard for would be more of the military approach to terrorism. And war is the easiest way for the state to increase its powers. Look at all the executive power grabs that have taken place over the past 8 years under the guise of "protecting national security." We got secret prisons (don't say you know there are no Americans in them--cuz it's a secret, that's why they are a bad thing), elective war, torture (which McCain caved on), warrantless wiretapping of our citizens and the suppression of science in the name of executive ideology. These are all of them more important concerns than the details of the tax code or carbon credit markets.

[R C Dean]

I don't understand why people think McCain is less statist.

I think it may be because some people take Obama at his word when he promises to remake America by exerting greater control over the economy and redistributing wealth.

[Paul]

Anecdote:

I was listening to NPR the other day, and they were talking to a Washington correspondant about 'nicknames' for the president. They chatted about the nicknames they had for McCain, and during this chat, I thought to myself "I bet they don't have a nickname for Obama, I'll bet they just call him 'Him'"

The conversation turned to Obama's nickname, and the reporter said "You know it's funny, we really don't have a nickname for Obama, we just say 'he's coming up to the podium' or 'there he is' or 'his policies'."

The only thing I worry about with Obama is that there won't be enough critical reporting on him because the press is really enamored with this guy.

[Lefiti]

"The only thing I worry about with Obama is that there won't be enough critical reporting on him because the press is really enamored with this guy."

Enamored OF, asshole. Get a life.

[matt2]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enamored

Get your facts straight, you douche.

[voxpo]

he promises to remake America by exerting greater control over the economy and redistributing wealth.

Link? He did say, a few days ago, "I am a strong believer in the free market. I am a strong believer in capitalism."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27464980/

I'm painfully aware that he has said much to contradict these claims, but my guess is this comes down to a difference of definitions. (Of "strong," "believer," "free," "market," "free market," or "capitalism"...I'm not sure which. Or "I.") But, I'll take what I can get.

[Ethan]

I think it may be because some people take Obama at his word when he promises to remake America by exerting greater control over the economy and redistributing wealth.

Making a few credits fully refundable (a method McCain also proposes) and having the government sell (rather than give away) carbon credits simply don't compare to the statist results wars bring. What else does Obama propose, in your view, that would constitute the state exerting greater control over the economy?

[Dood]

Historic fuck-up is more like it.

It's going to be fun watching the FAIL roll in while the elitists break their arms trying to point out fault elsewhere.

[Paul]

Enamored OF, asshole. Get a life.

Matt2 beat me to it. I accept your apology.

[Paul]

It's going to be fun watching the FAIL roll in while the elitists break their arms trying to point out fault elsewhere.

I believe they're pouring that foundation by calling it the "in-box" from hell.

But at the same time, who can really blame them?

[Mr. Obvious]

What else does Obama propose, in your view, that would constitute the state exerting greater control over the economy?

Weren't there some comments about attacking Pakistan? Although I give him credit for having more balls than McCain since Obama is for taking on a nuclear power!

[TallDave]

I would have thought an Obama economic policy was priced in over the last couple months, but the Dow lost another 500 today.

"I am a strong believer in the free market. I am a strong believer in capitalism."

Beware politicians mouthing vague platitudes. The devil is in the details.

[R C Dean]

Making a few credits fully refundable (a method McCain also proposes) and having the government sell (rather than give away) carbon credits

If that's all he does in the next few years, I'll vote for his re-election.

What else does Obama propose, in your view, that would constitute the state exerting greater control over the economy?

As the God-Emperor of Semantic Nullity, Obama hasn't really made any concrete proposals, preferring instead to muse about possible courses of action and promise to remake America, heal the planet, that sort of thing.

He is prone to muse along the lines of:

Completely re-engineering the American economy, via tax breaks, subsidies and other government benefits, cap-and-trade, and so forth, to put carbon fuel producers out of business.

A fundamental shift in the rules of the game in favor of labor unions.

He's never met a bail-out he doesn't like.

He sits silently while his cohorts on Capitol Hill talk about raising taxes in a variety of ways, including eliminating the cap on Social Security taxes, eliminating the deductibility of 401(k) contributions, and so forth.

He has announced plans to increase the progressivity of a tax system that already falls mostly on a smaller and and smaller percentage of the population.

He expresses regret that the Supreme Court can't institute redistribution of wealth on its own authority.

You get the idea.

[Orange Line Special]

I posted my comments on this post in Reason Magazine tries to pretend they opposed Barack Obama.

[yingge]

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[Andy]

Yeah, it's really too bad that the most powerful magazine in the world chose to crown the socialist President.

Ditto that the McCain/Palin/Graham/Lieberman cabal isn't exactly a govt-shrinker's dream, especially with a Democratic House and Senate.

Also, it is possible that Obama will be moderate. Not likely, but possible. If he isn't, he might FAIL pretty hard. And four years from now, maybe the Republicans will have a better candidate than McCain, which Reason can proceed to endorse (and push to victory, just like this year). Make any sense?

I just don't believe that always voting for (or supporting) the "less statist" major candidate is a srategy that will work. But libertarianism is always playing with nothing to lose, so try whatever.

[Ethan]

You get the idea.

I'm not sure I do. I don't see in your list of things much that involves the state exerting greater control over the economy than it does now, apart from what I already mentioned. We already have tons of tax breaks and subsidies and benefits and credits and cap-and-trade. BO is simply going to make alterations (additions and subtractions) to that list. There haven't been many bailouts, so I would submit that it is too early to say that he would support any bailout he came across. Changing the law to allow the easier formation of unions is not the government exerting greater control over the economy, it is rather a questions of how workers' rights should be expressed in law (a question I admit I do not know the answer to).

[MlR]

Nuh-uh.

We've already seen how true to its ideals a good portion of the Reason crew actually is.