I Am the President of Iran!

Now that The Heartlander is coming out bimonthly rather than monthly, I’ve decided to use my opening essay to deliver some brief commentary on the issues of the day, along with some reports on our most spectacular achievements. No more 1,300-word essays on global warming, smoking, school choice, or other issues on which I still write from time to time. You can still find those on our Web site and blog. I hope you approve.

I Am the President of Iran!

First, my secret life as president of Iran was exposed in a July 3 blog posting by Brad Warthen, a not-so-bright columnist for The State, a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, modeled after Pravda. His posting, titled “Ahmadinejad and libertarian think-tanker: Separated at birth?” was accompanied by the photos here.

My old friend Steve Baer first pointed out the resemblance to me ... and it is close enough that I did a double-take when Time magazine ran Ahmadinejad on its cover a few months ago. I’ve also gotten quite a lot grayer in the year since the photo here was taken.

A Little Pneumonia

Speaking of getting grayer ... back in March I picked up a virus at Heartland’s International Conference on Climate Change in New York, recovered in April, but in May was diagnosed with pneumonia and spent the better of the part that month in bed or at a medical clinic. It was a really draining experience, and I still don’t feel as if I’m entirely recovered.

Everyone, I learned, has a pneumonia story. They’ve either had it themselves, or have a loved one who endured it, or heard stories about other people having it. Most of those stories don’t end well. One long-time Heartland supporter told me about a young woman, a Peace Corps volunteer, who returned from abroad with what she thought was a cold or flu, was diagnosed with pneumonia, “went septic,” and eventually had both arms and both legs amputated.

With that vision haunting my dreams, I’ve pledged to take better care of myself.

Global Warming Victories

The news about global warming in the few weeks before this was written could hardly have been better for those of us in the “skeptics” camp. Opinion polls continue to show only a minority of Americans believe global warming is anthropogenic (man-made) or is a major problem, and their numbers are falling.

The Republicans correctly gauged the American people’s willingness to embrace “drill, drill, drill” instead of “sacrifice, conserve, surrender,” proof (as Lyndon Johnson used to say) that even a blind pig sometimes finds an acorn. More than 70 percent of the American public supports more domestic production of fossil fuels, something that is incompatible with “fighting global warming.”

Then the Republican Party emptied its platform of all the pious nonsense about global warming, with help from our allies at the American Conservative Union (on whose board I proudly serve) and others armed with Heartland publications. The party then wisely nominated Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for vice president (more about Palin below); she’s a bona fide global warming skeptic.

John McCain, long a mouthpiece for global warming alarmism, didn’t even mention global warming in his nomination acceptance speech. And most recently, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, widely viewed as McCain’s number one choice for VP before the last-minute switch to Palin, was quoted dissing global warming alarmism and opposing cap-and-trade. This from a governor who has been outspoken about the need to “do something” about global warming.

And to top if off, The Old Farmer’s Almanac hit the check-out counters in early September with a forecast of global cooling for the next half-century. “We at the Almanac are among those who believe that sunspot cycles and their effects on oceans correlate with climate changes,” wrote meteorologist and climatologist Joseph D’Aleo. “Studying these and other factors suggests that cold, not warm, climate may be our future.” (If the name sounds familiar, it should: D’Aleo spoke at Heartland’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change in March.)

The Sarah Palin Phenomenon

What to make of Sarah Palin, the surprise Republican nominee for vice president? I think she was a great choice for all the familiar reasons--she’s more free-market, has more executive experience, and is smarter than either McCain or Obama. What’s not to like? In a better world, she’d be running for president, not vice president.

What I especially like about Palin is how her values and knowledge so closely track what The Heartland Institute has been promoting for going-on-24 years. Lower taxes, less government, opposing environmental extremism, and zero tolerance for government corruption. These are all ideas right from the Heartland playbook.

It is probably not a coincidence. Palin has been receiving four of Heartland’s publications each month for the past six years, first as mayor of Wasilla (population 5,000) and then as governor of Alaska. State and local elected officials, unlike the big heads in Washington DC, actually read our publications.

As much as I admire Palin, I’m not about to run out and campaign for McCain-Palin. Rule #1 is that politicians lie ... all of them. It’s part of the job description. Palin seems better than most, but at the end of the day, to paraphrase William F. Buckley, I’d rather be governed by the first 200 names in the phone book than by any member of the political class.

Coming Up: Hope for Michigan?

You may have seen the piece in The Wall Street Journal by Phil Gramm and Mike Solon, titled “If You Like Michigan’s Economy, You’ll Love Obama’s” [September 13-14, 2008]. It described how Michigan’s economy is in the tank and how its dysfunctional public policies are to blame.

Late last year, Heartland was asked to assemble a team of experts to study Michigan’s economy and propose a “Roadmap to Prosperity” consisting of free-market approaches to taxes, public services, and regulation. The result is a 250-page book that is going to the printer in a few weeks.

Our findings are similar to those of Gramm and Solon: The state’s economic crisis is largely self-inflicted, the result of high and erratic taxes, spending that is poorly prioritized and managed, and regulations aimed more at protecting big businesses than encouraging competition, innovation, and consumer choices.

The Michigan book was an opportunity to bring together and update the wide-ranging research done by Heartland staff and senior fellows over the years. It could be a model for other states, and maybe even for a McCain, Obama, or Barr administration.

Joseph Bast (jbast@heartland.org) is president of The Heartland Institute.