On the Right

New York, March 29—Professor Galbraith has a nice wisecrack—as one would expect, self-serving—about how the Republicans’ insistence that they are not wholly responsible for the economic mess won’t work, because if you play that game, you can complain that all our economic woes trace to Alexander Hamilton. A nice try (one has only to look at the economic indices: since Gerald Ford, inflation doubled, the growth rate was halved, the deficit doubled, unemployment up, etc.). We are reminded, however, how easily public attention is distracted from the greater issues, the greater responsibilites.

We have the governors of Mainland China calling in diplomatic representatives from all over to announce that relations with Taiwan, however informal or surreptitious, will not be tolerated. And it is predictable the Republic will be engrossed in discussing this subject, rather than others that come to mind. For instance, the responsibility of the governors of China for the continuing misery of those Chinese not enterprising enough to flee to Taiwan in 1949. We hear talk about how we should behave diplomatically from the same people who give testimonial dinners to Pol Pot, whose only claim to Chinese hospitality presumably is that his depravities exceeded those even of Hitler and Stalin.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

New York, March 29—Professor Galbraith has a nice wisecrack—as one would expect, self-serving—about how the Republicans’ insistence that they are not wholly responsible for the economic mess won’t work, because if you play that game, you can complain that all our economic woes trace to Alexander Hamilton. A nice try (one has only to look at the economic indices: since Gerald Ford, inflation doubled, the growth rate was halved, the deficit doubled, unemployment up, etc.). We are reminded, however, how easily public attention is distracted from the greater issues, the greater responsibilites.

We have the governors of Mainland China calling in diplomatic representatives from all over to announce that relations with Taiwan, however informal or surreptitious, will not be tolerated. And it is predictable the Republic will be engrossed in discussing this subject, rather than others that come to mind. For instance, the responsibility of the governors of China for the continuing misery of those Chinese not enterprising enough to flee to Taiwan in 1949. We hear talk about how we should behave diplomatically from the same people who give testimonial dinners to Pol Pot, whose only claim to Chinese hospitality presumably is that his depravities exceeded those even of Hitler and Stalin.