Small government

Pericles observes that McCain's reflexive Republican “small government conservatism” was a perfect example of this non-philosophy.

The paradox of McCain is pretty simple: He projects a strong general message that government spending is out of control, and that Congress needs a president strong enough to say NO to its wasteful ways, so that we can continue to cut taxes and yet return to fiscal responsibility. But when the audience asks him about any particular thing the government does, he promises to continue it or even do more of it: He wants to stay in Iraq as long as it takes, keep Social Security and Medicare strong, do something about global warming, take care of veterans, make health care and college educations affordable, start a land-a-man-on-the-Moon-like program to make the United States independent of foreign oil, defend our borders against illegal immigration, and on and on and on. He rails against procedural stuff like Congressional earmarks, but never once does he say, “Here's an expensive government service that the American people are going to have to get along without.”

Pericles goes on to describe the habits of mind which make this reasoning possible.