Who is Bruce Bartlett?

Well, he worked for the Heritage Foundation at one time. He was a policy analyst in Reagan's administration, and he worked for Jack Kemp as well. He wrote the article that inspired Bob Dole's flat tax plan. In short, he's a conservative's conservative. AT present he's a writer with a column on Townhall.com.

And who is he encouraging his readers to vote for in the next presidential election? Clinton that's who. Because Clinton is the most conservative of the democrats running, says Bruce. First of all, it's a "real act of courage" for Hillary to not apologize or admit wrong-doing in voting for the war in Iraq. And then there's her domestic policy:

On economics, it is reasonable to assume that Sen. Clinton’s policies would not be altogether different from Bill Clinton’s. This is not a bad thing. On trade, his record was outstanding and on the budget was far better than George W. Bush’s. While Clinton raised taxes in 1993, it should be remembered that he cut them in 1997, including a cut in the capital gains tax. On regulatory policy, Clinton was no worse than the current administration and probably better on net.

When I try to explain to people why I didn't support Mr. Clinton in his second presidential run, I always mention capital gains tax cuts and NAFTA (and welfare "reform" and broad wire tapping provisions). It's nice to know that at least one conservative has noticed as well.

The comments thread is at least as entertaining as the editorial itself. I particularly like the claim, "As for domestic policy, she runs as a centrist and will govern like a Marxist." Would that it were so. I'd vote for her.