Parsing Obama's inaugural speech

John O’Sullivan:

... Some inaugural speeches ... are hard to hear because they are so meaningless that the mind drifts off elsewhere. Most turn into a real political assertion at some point, usually suggesting that the banalities of the first half of the speech will be realized in policies proposed in the second half. This is usually the moment when vapidity turns into outright flimflammery. In today’s Inaugural, this moment came quite early, about four minutes into it ...

... If we ignore the rhetorical falsities and dig for the real meaning underneath them, the speech becomes almost fascinating.

Friedrich Hayek's interview by John O'Sullivan

John O'Sullivan and the state of conservatism

George Jonas:

John O'Sullivan thinks conservatism in the “Anglosphere,” or the English-speaking world, is alive and well in three out of four countries. It “remains vigorous and fundamentally healthy” in America, and it “is thriving both in Australia and in Canada.”

Only the “Cameron Tories” of the United Kingdom are faltering.

... O’Sullivan thinks conservatism is thriving in Canada and Australia in very different ways. “It is advancing in Australia by boldness,” he writes, “and in Canada by caution.”

O'Sullivan's prescience on Stephen Harper's future:

... he asked me what I thought Harper would be doing in 10 years time. ... Harper was then 40, running the National Citizens Coalition ...

“Teaching civics classes,” I said. “Writing op-ed pieces. Walking the dog.”

“In 10 years, he’ll be prime minister of Canada,” O’Sullivan said. He was wrong. It took Harper only seven years. [Actually, O'Sullivan was not wrong.]

... the rest.