Former Bush administration Minister of Propaganda Peter Wehner has some advice for the new president:
Peter Wehner, a former senior adviser to President Bush, warned that placing too much emphasis on pragmatism could leave the Obama team rudderless and without intellectual cohesion. "Pragmatism has its place, but there are limits, as well," said Wehner, now a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. "If you aren't anchored to a political philosophy, you get blown about, and government becomes ad hoc and you make it up as you go -- and if you're not careful, you begin to go in circles."
Say what you will about the Bushies -- they did manage to sidestep the excessive-pragmatism trap.
--Jonathan Chait