really good article willhelm--she says "are any grown-ups voting for president? Seriously, we are all creatures of our time. Ask yourself: Does grown-up talk, let alone grown-up virtues, even resonate in the American electorate circa 2008? We certainly don’t hear much of it, and that probably has as much to do with the population as with the candidates. Self-reliance as an ideal, for example, appears to be at a historically low ebb, arguably eroded as much by GWB’s “compassionate conservatism” as by Democratic liberalism. Indeed, it wouldn’t be surprising if the candidate who offers the biggest government gimme bag wins. It was interesting to see how quickly John McCain reversed his perfectl...

really good article willhelm--she says "are any grown-ups voting for president? Seriously, we are all creatures of our time. Ask yourself: Does grown-up talk, let alone grown-up virtues, even resonate in the American electorate circa 2008? We certainly don’t hear much of it, and that probably has as much to do with the population as with the candidates. Self-reliance as an ideal, for example, appears to be at a historically low ebb, arguably eroded as much by GWB’s “compassionate conservatism” as by Democratic liberalism. Indeed, it wouldn’t be surprising if the candidate who offers the biggest government gimme bag wins. It was interesting to see how quickly John McCain reversed his perfectly grown-up comment about the subprime mortgage crisis— “It is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers” — in order to offer a government “solution” to the housing crisis a la Hillary and Obama. I guess the grown-up comment didn’t poll well. And speaking of polls, what kind of a stand-up grown-up sets course by them?"

More great statements throughtout the interview---loved it!