I admire Goldwater NOW, in comparison to what conservativism has devolved into. But back then, I admired the Great Society more. And I still do. I was always a New Deal Democrat, and the Great Society was the next logical step, and long overdue.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with smaller government, minimum interference with the private sector, lower taxes, law and order, strong national defense, and most of the other things in the conservative program. The problem is that they can all be carried too far. Rejecting what modern conservatives want is not the same thing as denouncing conservative principles, and certainly not the same as embracing their polar opposites. But we've had this pointless conversation before.

I graduated from Brandon High School in 1964. President Kennedy was dead and and the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. I turned 17 that summer and started at USF that fall. I got my first car, a VW beetle, and then there was Mary Ellen Schroeter...

It was a good time, we were going to defeat the commies, abolish poverty, and explore the solar system, maybe in my lifetime. There were still a few poor people in Appalachia, and colored folks wanted their freedom, but the government was working on that.