Here’s an interview with Mitt Romney by Hugh Hewitt from the other day. He’s still my early pick for 2008. Mitt is smart, has an absurdly good grasp of the numbers, and appears to actually want to run government.
And that reveals the paradox of conservatism: we don’t like “good” government. We think it is underperforming at best and soul-draining at worst.
So, when you get true-believing conservatives in power, perhaps they find it hard to muster the enthusiasm to run the place. One of two things happens: they acquiesce to the temptations of power or they become disillusioned.
What makes Mitt different than other conservatives is that he actually wants to run government, and make decisions that lead to good government, not just less government.
That’s a conundrum for folks like me. Claims of “better government” are always pitches for “more government,” in my observation.
But in Romney’s hands it may be a winner politically. Imagine Romney running as both a serious conservative and a serious governor (lowercase g).
Romney has a hell of a track record, running the incredibly large and political Salt Lake City Olympics, founding Bain Capital, and as you’ll note in his interview, taking a serious view about government’s role in health care.
He understands the primacy of private sector, but also understands that government is not going to shrivel and disappear, as much as we may wish it.
That sounds a bit liberal. But recall that Bill Clinton reformed welfare and Nixon opened China. Is there a third way for conservatives?
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