Word: panglossian
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...This new Obama, long past his Panglossian dreams of new Beltway comity, used fighting words because, quite frankly, he is trapped in a political tight spot, wedged between sky-high unemployment and lingering public worries over government spending. Almost 10 months after signing the $787 billion stimulus, the largest such federal program in U.S. history, he announced on Tuesday that the Federal Government needed to spend even more, a prospect that polls poorly, as concern about spending and the budget deficit continue to fester...
...morning of the 26th, that Panglossian prose initially confronted this writer as merely irritating. All joyful anticipation of the evening’s potatoes-and-pie promised land had just buckled under the triple knockout blows of a flat tire, a Weather Channel-defying drizzle, and a carnivorous version of Microsoft Office (one that apparently thrives on devouring junior papers-in-progress without a trace). No curmudgeon by nature, I couldn’t help but note that the “unexpected” seemed to get its kicks in somewhat perverse ways. In the end, however, holiday cheer...
...Pragmatism Should Often Trump Idealism Compared with the relatively Panglossian vision of George W. Bush, who sought to remake whole parts of the world under the banner of American moral authority, Obama brings a more conservative, cynical view to the question of when nations should act on idealistic impulses. At a press conference on Friday, the President was asked how he resolves the theoretical conflict between respecting state sovereignty and intervening in defense of the universal rights of oppressed people. "The threshold at which international intervention is appropriate I think has to be very high," Obama said. "There...
...Another of those modern comforts comes into view when one or another techie CEO implies that the Internet’s crawl around the globe has been to its unqualified great benefit and enlightenment. But few who have read through the hateful comments under YouTube videos could endorse this Panglossian perspective on the new media; the web has for many some evident kinks and tangles...
...supporting the Iraq War, for instance, worries us. While we agree that a timed withdrawal would be a foolhardy move on the part of the military, McCain’s undying faith in Petraeus, the recent surge, and his confidence that this is a fight we can win seems panglossian. Staying in Iraq in the long-term is not a viable solution for our nation or its military; we therefore hope McCain would work to get out of the region safely and peaceably as expeditiously as possible, even if that does not include “winning?...