When it comes to assessing a politician, what matters, at least to me, are actions, not motives. If they do the wrong thing, they should be criticized regardless of motive; conversely, if they do the right thing, they should be credited. I’ve had zero tolerance over the last three years for people who pop up to justify all the horrible things Obama has done by claiming that he is forced to do them out of political necessity or in cowardly deference to public opinion; that’s because horrible acts don’t become less horrible because they’re prompted by some rational, self-interested political motive rather than conviction. That’s equally true of positive acts: they don’t become less commendable because they were the by-product of political pressure or self-preservation; when a politician takes the right course of action, as Obama did today, credit is merited, regardless of motive.
About
Social Justice, Economics, The Environment, Politics and Philosophy
These are dope:
-
1090 days
-
“If by “intellectual” you mean people who are using their minds, then it’s all over the society. If by “intellectual” you mean people who are a...”
-
-
Banks can borrow billions at 0% interest. Students are going to have to pay 6.8% interest rates on their loans starting this...
