www.2012-election.us - Democracy in Action

Whose side are you on, Jon Huntsman?

BEFORE it was clear whether Rick Perry would stay in the race or drop out, Erick Erickson, a conservative talking head for CNN and managing editor of Redstate.com, said, "If Rick Perry leaves the Republican race, there will not be a candidate in the field who authentically represents smaller government."

But what about Ron Paul?

For conventionally right-wing party stalwarts like Mr Erickson, Ron Paul doesn't count as real Republican, because of his principled anti-war stance. Of course, that makes him a more authentic representative of smaller government,

How Would Obama Wield Agency-Reorganization Power?

Listen to the Audio

President Obama asked Congress Friday to give him authority to consolidate executive branch agencies. Margaret Warner speaks with Roll Call's Steven Dennis and Bloomberg News' Hans Nichols about what would happen if Mr. Obama is granted the reorganization power that no president has had for almost 30 years.

RAY SUAREZ: President Obama today said he wants fast-track authority to consolidate federal agencies. He called on Congress to give him that reorganization power that no president has had for almost 30 years.

Margaret Warner has more.

MARGARET WARNER: The president invited business owners to the White House to hear his proposal.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Today, I am calling on Congress to reinstate the authority that past presidents have had to streamline and reform the executive branch.

How big the cuts?

MAX BOOT, who seems never to have met a use of American military force he didn't like, is worried about Barack Obama's vague new military strategy. America's forces are to be lighter, as one war (Iraq) has ended and another (Afghanistan) is to be wound down. Most people would think such reductions, in both dollar and head-count terms, make sense.

Not to Mr Boot, who takes a look at historical reductions in forces in his article "Overspending the Peace Dividend". Each cutback, he argues, has left America unprepared for future conflicts. Here are the numbers he cites, in terms of percentage reductions after a major conflict:

Revolutionary war: 71%

Civil war: 95%

First world war: 91%

Second world war: 88%

Korean war: 31%

Vietnam war: 43%

Cold war: 38%

Those are indeed some striking numbers. Could Barack Obama be thinking of reducing the forces by 95%?

2012 US Election