Back Away From the Label

Rand Paul, asked directly whether he is a libertarian, couldn't bring himself to say a simnple "yes."

Instead, he is a "constitutional conservative," which is different from being a "conservative" without adjective -- and different in a libertarian direction.

David Boaz, who is a libertarian without ifs, ands, or buts, and who might be expected to be ticked off at this, is understanding.

"But if you can call yourself a conservative without necessarily endorsing everything that William F. Buckley Jr. and the Heritage Foundation — or Jerry Falwell and Mike Huckabee — believe, then a politician should be able to be a moderate libertarian or a libertarian-leaning candidate."

I don't know what to think of this, but in the event some of you found it here first: try reading Andrew Sullivan's blog more often.

A Little Gift for the Dr. Who Fans

A tip of the hat to Andrew Sullivan. This is fun to watch. And I was never a huge fan. But ... enjoy!

Obama's victory

Obama seems finally to have sealed the deal.

Congratulations are due to him, not just on securing the nomination as it appears he has, but on dealing a blow to Clinton family influence in the nation and in its largest political party.

I have to say that I agree entirely with hawkish blogger Andrew Sullivan on one point: there's been far too much talk about how Hillary's persistence in this campaign constitutes admirable grit or determination or whatever. It constitutes nothing admirable.

"One request at least," Sullivan says, "can we retire from the dicourse the notion that there is anything even faintly admirable about the Clintons' refusal to accept that they have lost the nomination. This isn't tenacity or pluck or spunk. It's vindictive, sore-loser narcissism. And someone senior in the party needs to call it like it is."

She has been saying, in effect, that if she can't have the nomination she will at least render it valueless.

I suggest dropping out of the electoral system. That's the anarcho-capitalist way. Still, I admit that the Clinton crowd turns my stomach in a uniquely knotted manner.

Those Australian Philosophers named Bruce

Okay, just a brief one today. If you have never seen the Monty Python "philosophers' song" skit, you owe yourself the treat. If you have seen it, but not recently, you'll surely want to see it again.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/03/speaking_of_imm.html

Many thanks to Andy Sullivan for posting this, and for lifting me out of my overly somber mood.