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Obama is the Real Conservative
A speechwriter for Reagan and Nixon—who worked at the National Review for four decades—on why he's voting for Obama.
It may be something of a surprise that, as a long time conservative, I now support Barack Obama. In 1968, I was a speechwriter first for Ronald Reagan, when Governor of California, then, as Richard Nixon became the presidential nominee, a speechwriter for Nixon, working at his home office at 450 Park Avenue. I became a senior editor at National Review in 1969, a position I held until recently.
There are common sense conservatives who are prudential, who try to match means with ends, and who calculate the probabilities of gains and risks. But there are philosophical (analytical) conservatives, the most useful being Edmund Burke, whose "Reflections on the Revolution in France" (1790) understood the great dangers in trying to change society through abstract (republican) theory. My first book that dealt with these matters was "English Political writers: From Locke to Burke" (Knopf, 1963).
One thing I know is that both Nixon and Reagan would have agreed with Obama’s speech against the Iraq War… But all the organs of the conservative movement followed Bush over the cliff—as did John McCain.
Republican President George W. Bush has not been a conservative at all, either in domestic policy or in foreign policy. He invaded Iraq on the basis of abstract theory, the very thing Burke warned against. Bush aimed to turn Iraq into a democracy, "a beacon of liberty in the Middle East," as he explained in a radio address in April 2006.
I do not recall any "conservative" publication mentioning those now memorable words "Sunni," "Shia," or "Kurds." Burke would have been appalled at the blindness to history and to social facts that characterized the writing of those so-called conservatives.
Obama did understand. In his now famous 2002 speech, while he was still a state senator in Illinois, he said: “I know that a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, of undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without international support will fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda. I'm not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.”
Burke would have agreed entirely, and admired the cogency of so few words. And one thing I know is that both Nixon and Reagan would have agreed. Both were prudential and successful conservatives. But all the organs of the conservative movement followed Bush over the cliff—as did John McCain.
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Jeffrey Hart is professor emeritus of English at Dartmouth College. He wrote for the National Review for more than three decades, where he was senior editor. He wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan while he was governor of California, and for Richard Nixon.
dnrambo
Embryonic stem cells would be a wonder for modern medicine if we manage to figure out how to use them. For now only adult derived stem cells (sans controversy) can be manipulated into doing anything useful, while embryonic stem cells just turn into teratomas (benign tumors of all sorts of cell types like hair, bone, muscle, etc.). Thank you for making the distinction by placing "embryonic" prior to "stem cells."
jamdive
Bravo! Finally, a reasonable voice from a reasonable conservative. I am sad to say that you are in the minority since the GOP pimped itself out to America's religious kooks under the Reagan administration. And it doesn't seem that the party operatives supporting McCain/Palin care to change that strategy. I believe Senator Obama represents, or possibly will represent, a move away from ideology with a capital "I" to problem solving and lower case ideologies.
cmontero
Mr Hart:
Please do not stop, I can go for a thousand and one nights reading you. A mind like yours can turn me into a Republican.
Your are the balance this Country needs, thanks!
janeeh
Coherent and convincing in a way that Button's emotion-driven screed was not.
mavin1620
Mr. Hart,
Reading about Burke in the day of McCain, Palin, and Rove is a breath of fresh air. Conservatives need to either clean house in the GOP or start a new party, or become Democrats. Please continue writing, it is a joy to read good sense.
ImTheMan
Thank god for abortion. Think of all the "plans" that could have been derailed due to irresponsibility and promiscuity. How much longer until individuals are no longer accountable for ANY of their actions? Also, I look forward to the day in which everyone see's that one person winning an election with a little over half of the nations support is a bad thing.
closethistorian
If you must salve your conscience by labelling Obama as a conservative in your own mind in order to justify supporting him, please feel free to do so. However, I must say that I find your basic thesis -- and your misappropriation of Obama -- to be both questionable and somewhat arrogant. The Obama policy positions that you correctly identify as laudable are not uniquely conservative in nature. To suggest that they are so is disingenuous when so many on the left agree with those same positions while so many on the right have rejected them.Labelling Obama's positions as conservative in this context is to redefine conservatism in a way that would be unfamiliar to most people in the modern United States. Perhaps this is why you had to reach all the way back to Burke -- a figure from another country in another century -- to find a supposed analog that could be labeled as "conservative". As for your dubious assertion that Nixon and Reagan would have agreed with Obama, this amounts to little more than feckless speculation because it is not possible to ask the opinion of men who are no longer with us. Even if true, it simply does not follow that the agreement of past conservative figures with specific policies demonstrates the fundamentally conservative nature of those policies. I predict that ideologues of both the right and the left will find Obama to be a frustrating and a challenging figure because Obama's policy positions tend to be more pragmatic than they are ideological. Obama is about finding common ground in order to solve problems and to get things done; he is not about ideological purity in any form.
fashion
Exactly Mr. Hart. This is the first piece I've read that offers a clear view on Obama, Bush and McCain. And I believe, after eight years of Bush, it's time for the U.S. to go home and take care of itself, and to clean up its act. But practicality isn't everything. It took more than purely conservative leadership to make America what it is---both good and bad. I hope that Obama will also have the guts to do amazing things at home and throughout the rest of the world.
JABMICH
The bottom line....
To all you newly registered, young voters...You MUST get out and vote as if your life depends on it. The GOP is hoping upon hope that young voters will follow their usual trend, become complacent or over confident and stay away from the polls. That is their only hope..Be patient and persevere. Stand in those long lines..rain, snow, sleet, rain, cold. Plan ahead...let your boss know you WILL vote, skip that class, take a friend with you......Do what you have to do and VOTE!
hardrain
Im the man
Guess you missed the whole point about gender equality being dependent on a woman's ability to choose when to reproduce. Still, you make this grand assumption that soon no individual will be accountable for their actions. Because of abortion? Bush hasn't been held accountable for HIS actions, mistakes, and utter irresponsibility- is it because some women choose to have a first term abortion? Are we in Iraq because of abortion, how 'bout the financial crisis? The other point you seem to miss is that wedge issues, like abortion, should take a back seat to true conservative principles, you know like a small government leaving people's private lives the hell alone.
garyslack
Bravo, Prof. Hart. An admiring former student.
Londoner
Like the majority of posts so far, I agree that Mr Hart's views have seldom been articulated in the Press; and are certainly well made. I have watched the campaign and pre-campaign intently from England. The characterisation of Obama as a dangerous left wing radical barely merits a response. His voting record alone suggests he is a conservative 'with a small c', as they always say over here. Much of the Republican rhetoric is truly radical: it's an anti-establishment, clean up Washington/big business message with almost no detail attached. It operates, centrally, on gut instinct and eschews analysis, after all, good folk know what's right. Well, the political sophisticates, shortly to be joined by a majority of the electorate, know that politics is more complicated. Obama is conservative in temperament. That is why he did not rush out to solve the world financial crisis. He saw it coming and knew that an instant fix is impossible. Faced with an international crisis, he would respond like another conservative, Pres. Kennedy, during the famous 13 days. Listen wisely, get the best intelligence (rather than make it up to bolster a pre-determined plan), stay cool, decide rationally, ignore hothead advice, analyse the angles. Does anyone here think that's not the way to take decisions?
Concordian
"Conservative" used to mean not changing something that works unless absolutely certain that the change will result in an improvement. America has learned the hard way that we need policies that achieve the goals we want, not policies that enable the comforting false beliefs of their privileged way of life. Obama is the candidate who understands that Americans want a government that faces reality and addresses the concerns of the middle class: jobs, housing, health care, the environment, and America's integrity at home and abroad. By seeking policies that work for America, Obama is the real conservative in this election.
Ferrari
The rethoric of old GOP politics is coming to an end. The torch of hope in today's america is opening the door to restore fundamental social rights and deter corporate privileges. The Cheney/Bush duet of the last eight years has provoked pain and distress beyond imagination. This is time in history when the kind of McCain rogue campaign ballyhoo that one time might be excused can no longer be justified. Million of americans today are facing real economic and political woes. The Cheney/Bush overt anti-American misleading and devilish behavior needs change. I am confident Obama and his entourage are well placed to restore the strength and the well being of the whole nation. Alas McCain is no more no less the incoherent expression of those eight years wreckage we all know.
ImTheMan
hardrain
abortion isn't the only way that women can choose when they reproduce. abstinence and birth control being two of the options, but I'm sure that you were already aware of that. Abortion has nothing to do with the financial crisis, but the core issue of irresponsibility and accountability is. How many CEO's and upper management have been held accountable for our current crisis? How many politicians? If there are never any consequences when is it going to end? How many bailouts for companies that have made poor financial decisions? If GM goes down the need for vehicles doesn't go away and someone will come in to replace that business. Why do we need to bail them out as they are requesting? That's the stance that Republicans and conservatives should be taking on this issue. It won't get 'em elected, but at least it is in line with the core principles.
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