Quote of the day.

The President-in-waiting...

"This isn’t about big government or small government. It’s about building a smarter government that focuses on what works."

I confess to lingering resentment about Bill Clinton's notorious declaration that the era of "big government" had come to an end. That's absurd, of course, in the context of a nation of hundreds of millions, with a vast territorial reach and vital social, economic and security interests on every continent. Worse, it implies that there's some legitimacy to the "big government" boogeyman that the right wing uses as a blunt weapon against every worthwhile government program or regulation.

Our government will be, by most any standard, "big." That's not the question. The question is, of course, whether the government is effective. Efficiency counts, too, but size? "Big" is unavoidable.

Nice to have a reality-based President on the horizon.

Hat tip to Jason Black at NPI.