But, there's an idea. Maybe we could draft Paul O'Neill for the GOP presidential candidacy in two years. It's a real shame that Dubya places him in such an influential position and then handcuffs him. It must must really tear him up inside, having to decide every day, whether to stay where he's at, knowing that he stands little chance of influencing Dubya to lean more to the conservative side or to stand up and say that he can no longer be a puppet, just mouthing Dubya's pseudo-conservative rhetoric, knowing that few Republican voters would listen.
Too bad we don't have a young version of Ronald Reagan waiting in the wings, to replace Dubya.
I didn't know much about O'Neill, but I took a few minutes to read 3-4 articles mentioning him here. He sounds like a very good man, and I agree that it would be wonderful to have a contender who could consistently articulate conservative principles like Reagan who was politically viable.
I've heard that executive branch agencies don't turn on a dime with each election, and I've heard criticism that it's almost irrelevant who's in the White House for a short time. Agencies are staffed many levels down by the same people doing about the same thing and it takes generations to thoroughly work in a new culture. It would take an overtly revolutionary administration to break that barrier. Not a "New Democrat" like Clinton or a "Compassionate Conservative" like Bush.
I think a revolutionarily conservative will appear when the nation's ready to support one. And that takes education reform, as much as we can get away with. Otherwise it would be like sending a race hoarse into lions den. He wouldn’t have a chance to sprint, he'd just be dinner for the lions. Perhaps O'Neill recognizes something like that, maybe even considering it principled behavior.