Trump’s Tactics Toward Canada Suggest He Underestimates Resolve of America’s Neighbor to the North
By CONRAD BLACK
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This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
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Sooner or later, some thoughtful conservative will no doubt publish a balanced critique of the Bush administration, with appropriate nods to judicial appointments and tax policy and careful scrutiny of the War on Terrorism and, especially, domestic spending. “Reclaiming Conservatism” (Oxford University Press, 240 pages, $21.95), by Mickey Edwards, a former congressman from Oklahoma, is not that book. Essentially an expanded version of an article he penned in 2006 for the Nation (!), this book purports to indict the president for violations of civil liberties, usurpation of powers rightly belonging to Congress and the courts, adventurism abroad, and aggressive pursuit of a socially conservative agenda. To a large extent, it’s boilerplate libertarianism, although Mr. Edwards strenuously denies that he is a libertarian. It’s also exceptionally mean-spirited in tone. Karl Rove is not only roughed up for the substance of his counsel to the president, but dissed as a “college drop-out.” Newt Gingrich was not only wrongheaded, but the evil genius who knifed Mr. Edwards’s congressional mentor, the colorless Bob Michel of Illinois. President Bush is referred to sarcastically as “Majesty.” For an author who repeatedly and sharply accuses his targets of arrogance, Mr. Edwards demonstrates very little humility of his own.
By CONRAD BLACK
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By MATTHEW RICE
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By GEORGE WILLIS
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By MATTHEW RICE
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By CAROLINE McCAUGHEY
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By ROSS ANDERSON
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By MARIO NAVES
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By CARLOS SOUSA
|Sooner or later, some thoughtful conservative will no doubt publish a balanced critique of the Bush administration, with appropriate nods to judicial appointments and tax policy and careful scrutiny of the War on Terrorism and, especially, domestic spending. “Reclaiming Conservatism” (Oxford University Press, 240 pages, $21.95), by Mickey Edwards, a former congressman from Oklahoma, is not that book. Essentially an expanded version of an article he penned in 2006 for the Nation (!), this book purports to indict the president for violations of civil liberties, usurpation of powers rightly belonging to Congress and the courts, adventurism abroad, and aggressive pursuit of a socially conservative agenda. To a large extent, it’s boilerplate libertarianism, although Mr. Edwards strenuously denies that he is a libertarian. It’s also exceptionally mean-spirited in tone. Karl Rove is not only roughed up for the substance of his counsel to the president, but dissed as a “college drop-out.” Newt Gingrich was not only wrongheaded, but the evil genius who knifed Mr. Edwards’s congressional mentor, the colorless Bob Michel of Illinois. President Bush is referred to sarcastically as “Majesty.” For an author who repeatedly and sharply accuses his targets of arrogance, Mr. Edwards demonstrates very little humility of his own.
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