Four of the most lamentably omitted words in American politics are the following: “in this present crisis.” Conventional references to Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address note his declaration that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Reagan actually said, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Omitting those first four words does a significant damage to the legacy of Reagan—and also poses problems for the future of conservatism and the GOP after 2012. Those four words show the methodological conservatism of Reagan’s temperament: Rather than making ideological declarations for all time, Reagan is speaking to his own time. Reagan does not denounce all functions of government (the Gipper was no anarchist) but notes specific kinds of government dysfunction and a specific crisis that needs solving by a reform of government. Sometimes, this “reform” may involve a paring-back of government intervention, but sometimes it might involve other changes or even, perhaps, an expansion of government (say, for example, by increasing defense spending).

There is a temptation among some on the right to believe that government is always the problem and that the corresponding solution is always the reduction of government. While maintaining a limited government is a very worthy goal, a monomaniacal obsession with shrinking the government at all costs can make one blind to the fact that even a shrinking government must be administered. And a bad application of government powers can undermine the broader social conditions necessary for maintaining a small government. For example, the poor financial and mortgage regulations of the the 2000s helped lead to the cataclysm of 2007 and 2008 and the corresponding explosion in government spending made possible by this cataclysm. Conservatives must also cope with the fact that, especially in this era of declining wages and great economic uncertainty, many Americans are quite happy with an active federal government.