Suddenly; The American Idea Abroad and At Home, 1986-1990

New York: The Free Press, 1990. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xvi, 429, [3] pages. Index. Inscribed by the author. George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative political commentator. Will writes regular columns for The Washington Post and provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC. In 1986, The Wall Street Journal called him "perhaps the most powerful journalist in America". Will once proposed that the United States withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, and defended Barack Obama's response to the uprisings after the 2009 elections in Iran. He also criticized the Bush administration for engaging in warrantless surveillance, and supported trials for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. On immigration, Will supports tighter border security and a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants. Will argued that the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision caused a "truncation of democratic debate about abortion policy." Additionally, Will is generally skeptical of affirmative action programs. Will favors the legalization of drugs. Will supports low taxes, as he thinks that they stimulate economic growth. He was opposed to both George W. Bush and Barack Obama's stimulus plans. Will supports abolishing the minimum wage and creating voluntary personal retirement accounts in order to reduce the federal cost of Social Security. In February 2013, Will wrote in support of a proposal by "relentlessly liberal" Sherrod Brown to break up consolidated banks and finance industry conglomerates, ending "too big to fail" by restoring the Glass-Steagall Act. Will compares the success America has had in spreading the democratic/free market message abroad with the difficulties it is experiencing at home. He examines the merits and demerits of contemporary American culture, and the place that the USA occupies in the post-Cold War world. This collection of essays is divided into two complementary parts. The first part chronicles the American idea abroad after the long confrontation of the Cold War. The second considers how America's ideals of responsible self-government and civility are faring at home.