Eugene Robinson: Thank Bush for end to Reagan era politics

THE REAGAN ERA in American politics is about to end, and we have George W. Bush to thank for its demise.

In this respect, it doesn't matter who wins the Democratic nomination or even who wins the general election in the fall. I was going to try to write this column without using the word "paradigm," but already I've failed: Regardless of who takes the oath of office in January, the paradigm that reigned for nearly three decades — the notion that government is useless, if not inherently evil — is no longer operative.

All three remaining presidential candidates propose a far more activist role for government. Even John McCain, who tells conservatives he's a Reagan disciple, proposes far-reaching government action on issues such as climate change, high energy prices and the mortgage crisis — problems supposedly better left to the cruel genius of free markets, according to the old paradigm that Bush has pushed to absurd extremes.

It took a leader of the Decider's uncommon gifts to kill the philosophy he worships. To be fair, there is one area in which he has been the most proactive of presidents, to our nation's lasting discredit: Violating the basic rights of citizens and noncitizens alike in the name of his "war on terrorism." Otherwise, he has interpreted Reagan's small-government mandate as an excuse — or an instruction — to abdicate government's most fundamental responsibilities.

Anyone who wants to argue this point need simply remember the "heck of a job" our government did in handling the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

Almost every day, there's more evidence that 2008 is turning into one of those watershed years in American politics — 1980, say, or 1968, or even 1932. You can start with the fact that the Democrats are poised to nominate the first African-American major party candidate for president.

Even more telling, though, are the polls showing that soaring numbers of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction — more than eight out of 10, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll — and that Bush's popularity has fallen to historic lows.

Evidence suggests that Americans are tired of a government slavishly beholden to a rigid do-nothing ideology — and that they're ready to punish the president's party for its ineptitude and lassitude.
Read more: http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_92860

They managed to ruin this once-wealthy country.

A little late, but hey - better late than never.