IS THAT ALL THERE IS?:

The Galbraith Effect? (Thomas Sowell, 8/12/08, Real Clear Politics)

Many years ago, when I was a college student, I took a course from John Kenneth Galbraith. On the first day of class, Professor Galbraith gave a brilliant opening lecture, after which the students gave him a standing ovation.

Galbraith kept on giving brilliant opening lectures the whole semester. But, instead of standing ovations, there were now dwindling numbers of students and some of them got up and walked out in the middle of his lectures.

Galbraith never got beyond the glittering generalities that marked his first lecture. After a while, the students got tired of not getting any real substance.

Senator Barack Obama's campaign this year reminds me very much of that course from Professor Galbraith. Many people were ecstatic during the early primaries, as each state's voters heard his glittering generalities for the first time.

Which is why Maverick's ads accusing the Unicorn Rider of being no more than a facade of glittery celebrity is cutting so deep.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 12, 2008 6:25 AM