Reasons for being cheerful

A reader looks forward with optimisim.

A reader writes:

- Trump will be in charge of 250th anniversary celebrations. (Herman Kahn thought these were a big deal, an opportunity to set the tone. He couldn't get dopey Gerald Ford interested in the bicentennial.)

Trump can put on a big patriotic show, while hopefully letting the next generation worry about the midterm campaign.

- Continuing the Trump aesthetic in new federal buildings, planes, ships. (Remember the "Executive Order on Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture.")

Indeed. I’d encourage a broad tent approach, with most pre-1945 styles (e.g., art deco) being allowed. And let new looks be considered, as long as they are not actively hostile toward the public (e.g., symmetry, yes; cantilevered overhangs, no; random placements of windows, no, etc. Thom Mayne never gets another federal commission.).

For example, here’s the San Diego County Administration Building, a WPA project from the late 1930s. It’s a lot more streamlined than it would have been even 15 years before, but it’s a nice look.

- For a half century, welfare has taken priority over space exploration. Now with Musk we can have an ambitious national goal of getting to Mars. (Maybe a broader switch to "solution-oriented future optimism" as described in The Conservative Futurist.)

- "Make America Healthy Again" is now part of the the conversation. This can be an aesthetic triumph for the country as well as an example of solution-oriented optimism. Universal ozempic?

- Probably passed the high water mark for woke and DEI. Democrats got hurt in the suburbs, a telltale sign they took it too far with that stuff. In 2028, we could see Democrat candidate that is much more normal. (Even Fetterman saw this was necessary this time.)

- Going to be tough to explain why Kamala did so much worse than Biden in their strongholds like Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Atlanta. Laura Ingraham was talking on Fox last night about how there is no justification for Florida having an instant count and the Democrat cities holding back their results for days. Better election security would lock in a more conservative future, like Florida after DeSantis cleaned it up. (Also look how much better Virginia is this time.)

- Another four years of Trump judicial appointments. His first term picks have been great even though the district judges don't get a lot of attention.

- Probably won't see much of Obama, Kamala, Walz, Cheney, Bush, Romney again. Trump has remade the GOP and kicked the controlled opposition grifters out.

- A great bench for 2028 with Vance, Youngkin, and DeSantis. For the first time we will be spoiled for choice.

- The threat of anarchotyranny and communism recedes for now. There is a big tent of people opposed to this stuff. No one wants to deduct an unrealized gains tax from the net worth spreadsheet. The California proposition on rent control (#33) failed 62/38. I would imagine Trump rounds up the Venezuelan militants up right away.

- Another triumph for Twitter autists. (Musk is our king?) He looked for the lever to pull to have the most impact (getting 100k Amish to the polls in Pennsylvania) and made a huge difference. Also, the threat of scrutiny (with no censorship on X) prevented Dems from doing a big steal.

- Remember that Trump will manage to the S&P 500 index. This is a victory for capital (regional bank stocks up +8% pre-market) but that should temper expectations of any change too drastic.