Fascinating reading...
washingtonpost.com
Ideas From the Right
A Marriage of Family and Policy
Bush Gives Government A Leading Social Role
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 15, 2001; Page A01
First in a series of occasional articles
To those watching President Bush press his tax cut and reverse environmental and workplace regulations, it seems that he is a foe of big government. But when it comes to social policy, the Republican president shares with liberal predecessors a belief that government can and should play a large role in molding the private behavior of the citizenry.
The Bush administration is divising proposals to strengthen American families, using grants to promote "responsible fatherhood," marriage counseling to prevent divorce, character education for children and tax credits to promote two-parent homes and adoption.
"In essence, what we're seeing is the triumph of big government conservatism," said the Hudson Institute's Marshall Wittman, a former Christian Coalition official. "Everyone assumed devolution" -- sending power to the states -- "meant the absence of a government role. In fact, it means a continued presence."
Bush's approach to social problems helps to explain the competing and sometimes contradictory messages emerging from his administration: His aims, like his appointments, are philosophically conservative, but he also believes in a muscular government that can rebuild families.
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