First, Arnold Kling:
Yesterday, President Obama said,
When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us. We, the people -- (applause.) We, the people, hold in our hands the power to choose our leaders and change our laws, and shape our own destiny.
Government is not "us." Government is a relatively small handful of people with far too much power. Their exercise of vast powers is neither moral, Constitutional, nor effective. The power of the people does not include the power to stop bailouts or to stop health care reform. The power to elect our leaders is a very weak power. Our laws are passed by a Congress that, rather than enjoying the support of the vast majority of Americans, is according to polls opposed by the vast majority of Americans.
... Basically, he was calling on people to submit to his will and that of his party.
... Yes, government is a menace. It is less of a menace in the U.S. today than it was in Germany in 1933. But it is a menace. The pundits who denounce those of us who disagree with the government are a larger menace. The many intellectuals in this country who concoct rationales for even greater government power are the largest menace of all.
Don Boudreax has similar thoughts, quoting H.L. Mencken and then concluding with:
The danger isn’t that some Americans have a low opinion of Washington; the danger is that too many Americans have a high opinion of it.
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