240 SPECIALPROVIDENCEWhen·itcomestobiggovernment,Jeffersoniansworrymoreabout
themilitarythanaboutanythingelse.ForJacksonians,spendingmoney
onthemilitaryisoneofthebestthingsgovernmentcando.Yes,the
Pentagon is inefficientand contractors are stealing thegovernment
blind,butbydefinitiontheworkthattheDefenseDepartmentdoesin
defendingthenationis a servicetotheJacksonianmiddleclass.Yes,the
Pentagonshouldspenditsmoneymorecarefully,butlet'snotthrowthe
babyoutwiththebathwater.Jacksonianopinionismuchmoresensitive
toallegationsofwasteandmismanagementinprogramsthatJacksoni-
ansdon'tsetmuchstoreby-welfareabusersinlimousinesandforeign
aidswindlesgeneratemoreangeramongmanyJacksoniansthandosto-
riesofsix-hundred-dollarhammersatthePentagon.
T
heprofoundlypopulistworldviewofJacksonianscontributesto
oneofthemostimportantelementsoftheirpolitics:thebelief
thatwhileproblemsarecomplicated,solutionsaresimple.Falseidolsare
many;thetrueGodisone.
JacksoniansbelievethatGordianknotsaretheretobecut.Inpublic
controversiesthesidethatisalwaysgivingyoureasonswhysomething
can'tbedone,andendlesslytellingyouthatthepopularviewisn'tsuffi-
ciently"subtle,""complex," "sophisticated," or"nuanced"-thatisthe
sidethatdoesn'twantyoutoknowwhatitisdoing,andisnottobe
trusted.AlexanderHamiltonhada milliongoodreasonsforestablishing
thenationaldebt. PhiladelphiabankerandJacksonantagonistNicholas
Biddlehada millionreasonswhywecouldn'tbreakuptheBankofthe
UnitedStates.JimmyCarterhada million reasonswhy he couldn't
bombIran,anda millionmorewhywehadtogiveawaythePanama
Canal.GeorgeH.Bushhada milliongoodreasonsforraisingtaxes,and
forcuttingshorthisoffensiveintheGulfWarbeforeoverthrowingSad-
dam.Clintonhada milliongoodreasonsforlyingabouthismarital
fidelity.
Ifpoliticianshavehonestintentions,theywill tellyoustraightout
whattheyplantodo.Ifit'sa goodidea,youwilllikeitassoonasthey
explainthewholepackage."Complex,"whenappliedeithertopoli-
ciesortosituations,is,forJacksonians,a negativeterm.Reaganbril-
liantlyexploitedthis;asinthecaseofJackson,Reagan'sownintuitive
approachtotheworldledhimtobeliefsandpoliciesthatappealedto
Jacksonianopinionrightfromthestart.