During the general election campaign of 2008, Barack Obama talked a very moderate game — even a conservative game. This was especially true in the debates versus McCain. He sounded like, oh, David Boren, or Sam Nunn. At times, he sounded like Richard Lugar, the Republican, whom he cited favorably. He mocked the idea that he was some wild-eyed radical out to socialize the country.

But on the eve of the election, with his big victory in sight, Obama let his hair down a little. He said, “We are going to fundamentally transform the United States of America.” Granted, every candidate indulges in high-flown rhetoric. But Obama seems to have meant it, don’t you think?

With the nationalization of health care, we might ask the flummoxed and shocked, “What part of ‘fundamentally transform’ didn’t you understand?”

He also let his hair down with Joe Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. Joe the Plumber. Candidate Obama said, “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Again, we might ask, “What part of ‘spread the wealth around’ didn’t you understand?”

The cold truth is, if you’re going to elect socialists, you should expect socialism. Now, everyone gets all “wee-weed up,” as the president says, when you say “socialist” or “socialism.” We Americans have the weirdest political nomenclature in the world. We are a country where socialists, collectivists, and leftists are routinely called liberal, and free-market types are routinely called conservative, right-wing, or worse.

Ever since I first began to peep classical-liberal views, in college, I have been called a fascist. You?

In France, the establishment scorns the entrepreneurially minded as “neo-liberal,” and Americans are confused. When John Howard was in office, our mainstream media had to attack that right-wing, Bush-supporting, war-mongering prime minister of Australia: leader of the Liberal party, of course.

If Obama and Pelosi were politicians in France — holding the same views they have now — would they belong to the Socialists? Same question for Italy: Would they belong to the Socialists? How about Germany? SDP, right? And so on. To say it once more, America is a weird place. Foes of free-trade pacts, such as NAFTA, are called “liberal.” When Angela Davis was vice-presidential nominee of the Communist party, she was called “ultra-liberal” — National Review had a field day with that.

I wish that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont belonged to the Socialist party. (Instead, he runs as an “independent” and “caucuses” with the Democrats.) That would be refreshingly honest.

The Democrats’ economic thinking — and other thinking — did not begin with the inauguration of Obama. Almost ten years ago, I interviewed Phil Gramm, the economist-politician who had just announced his retirement from the Senate. He said that of course the Democratic party was socialist, “if by ‘socialist’ you mean the redistribution of wealth, more decisions made by the central government — no question about it. My grandmother thought of the Democrats as the party of the people. What they are is the party of government.”

But for most contemporary “liberals,” the people are the government, and the government is the people — no difference, really. (And, frankly, you could make a case.)

It has long been the dream of contemporary liberal Democrats to make the United States more like Scandinavia, more like Europe in general. They have long been embarrassed by American “exceptionalism.” I think in particular of the kids — the American kids — I studied abroad with. Every American difference made them cringe. They are the ones who slapped the Canadian maple leaf on their backpacks. And now people much like them are in control of the American government, or most of it.

Pelosi & Co. kept calling Sunday’s vote and achievement “historic.” They were quite right. This is a milestone on the way to American Europeanization, or de-exceptionalization.

And how did this happen? Who is responsible for this development? The American people, of course — the American electorate. Obama, Pelosi, Sanders, and the rest didn’t shoot their way into office: They were put there, fair and square, by voters. In a democracy, you really can’t complain about what you have — that is, if you get your way at the polls.

To be continued, of course . . . Isn’t it nice that, in American politics, nothing is ever final? Or is a federal program, indeed, forever? In the Reagan years, we used to talk about a “domestic Brezhnev Doctrine.” In world affairs, the Brezhnev Doctrine meant that, what was Communist, was Communist forever: no “rollback” (or repeal, if you like). The domestic Brezhnev Doctrine meant: Once the Democrats put something in — the TVA or whatever — it was forever, no rolling back.

Well, as I said, to be continued . . .

‐Received an e-mail from Oxford, England:

Jay,
I’m English, and have been watching all this [the health-care legislation] unfold with horror. I think I have realised why I care so much. As a libertarian I have spent my life hoping that Britain will follow America’s example and move closer to her values. Today, the opposite seems to be happening. Is it possible that the United States is joining the old guard, and that the idea of America representing the future was just a chimera, or at best a temporary phenomenon? If America as it was intended falls, then which country will represent my ideal? Pretty terrifying stuff.

Perhaps they could reelect Howard in Australia?

‐I will quote from the Times article:

History should be taught “in order — it’s a narrative,” Mr Gove said. Lessons should celebrate rather than denigrate Britain’s role through the ages, including the Empire. “Guilt about Britain’s past is misplaced.”
English classes would put more emphasis on the classics, with children encouraged to learn poetry by heart. “A lot of the ‘great tradition’ is locked in a cupboard marked ‘too difficult’ and that’s quite wrong.”

Say what you will about a Cameron prime ministership, which would probably be so wet, it would be soaking: Michael Gove as education czar would be thrilling. I’ll have more about him and his plans later . . . ‐Have a great one.

#JAYBOOK#