Liberals and conservative alike can agree that President Bush’s foreign policies have not turned out to be those suggested by his 2000 campaign (humble foreign policy? Aversion to nation-building?).
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the New Deal, Reason’s Jesse Walker looks back at how FDR the 1932 candidate became the FDR we all remember today. And he looks forward to how the presidency might change Obama, McCain or Clinton. In politics, nothing is certain:
Come 2012, President Obama might be explaining why he is sending more troops to Tehran; or President McCain could be preparing emergency legislation to nationalize the banks. If so, our leader's former self will join Bush the humble non-interventionist and Roosevelt the budget hawk on the fringes of the nation's memory. A candidate's campaign persona: There's the true Forgotten Man.
Jeremy Gantz is an In These Times contributing editor working at Time magazine.