Keynes' respose to long term concerns was something along the lines of "in the long run, we are all dead." This is a bad attitude.

If you hang at conservative web sites or listen to talk radio, there are as many theories on Bush's battle plan for the election as there are commentators. On talk radio in particular, a number of his proposals have caused jaws to drop to the floor. A few local hosts have threatened to stay home from the election if this goes much further.

Some think he genuinely thinks the spending is necessary, or that other policies that go against the conservative grain are good ideas, even if they aren't popular with the base. This is the "Honest Bush" theory, and is most likely. He really needs to stop it, though. It won't work.

Others go for the "Machiavelli Bush" theory, where he proposes things that appeal to the center and beyond, knowing full well that the Republicans in Congress will do the dirty work of holding the purse strings shut. I hope this one isn't true--it doesn't match his personality, and more important, it doesn't work either. Congress hasn't exactly been the House of Frugality either over the past few years.

Some people thought Bush passed campaign finance reform under this theory, certain that the Supreme Court would block the puck at the goal. We saw how well that worked.

The Endowment for the Arts is not an expensive program, compared to many others, but it is one of the conservative Poster Boys for a useless government program. It is very difficult to justify supporting the arts at the Federal level as a legitimate functoin of the Federal government, and if a large increase is made by Bush to this program, IMO it would be a highly symbolic slap in the face to the Reagan/Gingrich wing of the party.

I don't understand it at all.