20150907 subscr_cover61404-postal.qxd 8/18/2015 7:10 PM Page 1 September 7, 2015 $4.99 JAMES ROSEN: WFB vs. Vidal COOKECOOKE on Doonnaalld TTrruump PRYCE-JONESPRYCE-JONES onn JOHN R. BOLTON: PLAN B ON IRAN RRobberrtt CConnquesstt MyMy Pope,Pope, RightRight andand WrongWrong RAMESH PONNURU www.nationalreview.com base_milliken-mar 22.qxd 8/18/2015 11:21 AM Page 1 TOC_QXP-1127940144.qxp 8/19/2015 2:40 PM Page 1 Contents SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 | VOLUME LXVII, NO. 16 | www.nationalreview.com ON THE COVER Page 26 Puzzling Out Pope Francis Some conservative Catholics treat David Pryce-Jones on Robert Conquest Francis as though he were seeking p. 24 systematically to undermine their position within the Church. But “sys- tematic” does not appear to be his m.o. for anything. Ramesh Ponnuru BOOKS, ARTS & MANNERS COVER: ROMAN GENN 37 THE LONG, HOT SUMMER OF ’68 James Rosen discusses the film ARTICLES Best of Enemies. CANDIDATE NARCISSUS by Charles C. W. Cooke 16 43 FOUND WANTING Does Donald Trump believe in anything but himself? Do his supporters care? John Hillen reviews Strategic Failure: How President 18 TRUMP, BY THE NUMBERS by Henry Olsen Obama’s Drone Warfare, Poll data suggest the candidate will struggle to remain the front-runner. Defense Cuts, and Military Amateurism Have Imperiled 21 RICK PERRY’S TRAVAILS by Erica Grieder America, by Mark Moyar. The former Texas governor fights to keep his presidential bid alive. 45 REWRITING BEETHOVEN BERNIE AND BLACK LIVES by Kevin D. Williamson Jay Nordlinger discusses the Salzburg 23 Festival’s production of Fidelio. Why a faction of the Left has turned on the Vermont socialist. THE TRUTH-TELLER by David Pryce-Jones 47 FILM: CRUISING SPEED 24 Ross Douthat reviews Mission: Robert Conquest exposed the horrors of the USSR. Impos sible—Rogue Nation. FEATURES 26 PUZZLING OUT POPE FRANCIS by Ramesh Ponnuru Offhand remarks, often reported without context, have shaped his image. SECTIONS FACING REALITY ON IRAN by John R. Bolton 29 2 Letters to the Editor The Vienna deal sets up a choice of bad and worse. 4 The Week Athwart . James Lileks READY ALWAYS TO GIVE AN ANSWER by David French 35 32 36 The Long View . Rob Long Campus Christians flourish amid adversity. 44 Poetry . Daniel Mark Epstein 48 Happy Warrior . David Harsanyi NATIONAL REVIEW (ISSN: 0028-0038) is published bi-weekly, except for the first issue in January, by N ATIONAL REVIEW, Inc., at 215 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. © National Review, Inc., 2015. Address all editorial mail, manuscripts, letters to the editor, etc., to Editorial Dept., N ATIONAL REVIEW, 215 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. Address all subscription mail orders, changes of address, undeliverable copies, etc., to NATIONALREVIEW, Circulation Dept., P. O. 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Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors. letters--READY_QXP-1127940387.qxp 8/19/2015 2:28 PM Page 2 Letters SEPTEMBER 7 ISSUE; PRINTED AUGUST 20 EDITOR Richard Lowry Senior Editors Richard Brookhiser / Jonah Goldberg / Jay Nordlinger Is Puerto Rico Back from the Brink? Ramesh Ponnuru / David Pryce-Jones Managing Editor Jason Lee Steorts Literary Editor Michael Potemra Vice President, Editorial Operations Christopher McEvoy Writing in the Week (July 20), NATIONAL REVIEW’s editors incorrectly characterize Washington Editor Eliana Johnson Executive Editor Reihan Salam Puerto Rico governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla. Their unfair portrayal of his efforts Roving Correspondent Kevin D. Williamson to revitalize Puerto Rico’s economy is a disservice to the seriousness with which National Correspondent John J. Miller Senior Political Correspondent Jim Geraghty his administration has addressed Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis. NATIONAL REVIEW Art Director Luba Kolomytseva Deputy Managing Editors should instead recognize the governor as a job creator and fiscal reformer. Nicholas Frankovich / Fred Schwarz In the past few weeks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Con - Production Editor Katie Hosmer Assistant to the Editor Rachel Ogden gressional Research Service hailed the governor’s willingness to undertake nec- Research Associate Alessandra Trouwborst essary cost-cutting measures in a difficult environment. These actions, and the Contributing Editors Shannen Coffin / Ross Douthat / Roman Genn comments of support, speak to Governor Garcia Padilla’s true record. Florence King / Lawrence Kudlow Mark R. Levin / Yuval Levin / Rob Long The facts show that Puerto Rico’s economy is moving in the right direction. Mario Loyola / Jim Manzi / Andrew C. McCarthy Governor Garcia Padilla has enacted tough spending cuts and achieved impres- Kate O’Beirne / Andrew Stuttaford / Robert VerBruggen sive results. The general-fund budget deficit, which stood at $2.2 billion in NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE Editor-at-Large Kathryn Jean Lopez 2012, has been cut to $550 million. Governor Garcia Padilla signed the Fiscal Managing Editors Katherine Connell / Edward John Craig Sustainability Act in 2014, generating nearly $1.4 billion in savings. Additionally, National-Affairs Columnist John Fund Staff Writers Charles C. W. Cooke / David French he fought for comprehensive pension-reform legislation, which has also been Senior Political Reporter Alexis Levinson Political Reporters Brendan Bordelon / Joel Gehrke passed. All of this has led to the first balanced budget in more than a decade. Reporter Katherine Timpf Associate Editors Nat Bro wn / Molly Powell / Nick Tell Juan E. Hernandez Editorial Associate Christine Sisto Technical Services Russell Jenkins Director, Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Web Editorial Assistant Grant DeArmitt Web Developer Wendy Weihs Web Producer Scott McKim EDITORS- AT- L A RG E THE EDITORS RESPOND: Under Governor Garcia Padilla’s leadership, Puerto Rico Linda Bridges / John O’Sullivan continued, and continues, to add to its debt rather than reduce it. Yes, a $550 mil- NATIONAL REVIEW INSTITUTE BUCKLEYFELLOWINPOLITICALJOURNALISM lion deficit is preferable to a $2.2 billion deficit, but, in Puerto Rico’s situation, Ian Tuttle / Elaina Plott that’s like saying that a gunshot wound to the abdomen is preferable to a head Contributors Hadley Arkes / James Bowman / Eliot A. Cohen shot. The governor has flinched on necessary budget cuts, restoring some $166 Dinesh D’Souza / Chester E. Finn Jr. / Neal B. Freeman million in University of Puerto Rico funding after student protests. Yes, pension- James Gardner / David Gelernter /George Gilder Jeffrey Hart / Kevin A. Hassett / Charles R. Kesler reform legislation was passed—and the governor promptly sabotaged it, shorting David Klinghoffer / Anthony Lejeune / D. Keith Mano Michael Novak / Alan Reynolds / Tracy Lee Simmons it by nearly $100 million to make up for the fact that tax collections are weak even Terry Teachout / Vin Weber as rates rise. And that trend continues: The island’s sales tax just rose from 7 per- Chief Financial Officer James X. Kilbridge cent to 11.5 percent. Governor Garcia Padilla’s big idea was—no surprise—a 16 Accounting Manager Galina Veygman Accountant Lyudmila Bolotinskaya percent VAT, which lawmakers have thus far had the good sense to decline enact- Business Services Alex Batey / Alan Chiu ing. Increasing the tariff on oil imports, from $9.25 a barrel to $15.50, is madness, Circulationr Manage Jason Ng as was the governor’s pursuit of an unserious debt-restructuring program that, in Executive Publisher Scott F. Budd attempting to preempt federal bankruptcy law, was patently unconstitutional, as Advertising Director Jim Fowler Advertising Manager Kevin Longstreet has been twice confirmed now by federal courts. Governor Garcia Padilla’s Assistant to the Publisher Brooke Rogers response to all this suggests very strongly that he does not understand that Puerto Director of Revenue Erik Netcher Rico’s fiscal crisis is only incidental; its real problem is an economic crisis. Puerto Vice President, Communications Amy K. Mitchell Rico has the lowest work-force-participation rate in the Americas and a tax-and- PUBLISHER Jack Fowler regulatory burden that has stifled almost all economic growth for 20 years. The CHAIRMAN governor has not lifted a pinky to address that fundamental problem and in fact John Hillen opposes measures such as exempting Puerto Rico from the minimum wage, CHAIRMANEMERITUS Thomas L. Rhodes which National Bureau of Economic Research and Harvard scholars estimate has FOUNDER added 8 to 10 percent to its unemployment. There is no world in which that adds William F. Buckley Jr. up to “impressive results.” Letters may be sub mitted by e-mail to [email protected]. 2 | www.nationalreview.com SEPTEMBER 7 , 2 0 1 5 base_milliken-mar 22.qxd 8/17/2015 12:25 PM Page 1 Many were minted ... so few remain The 1878 U.S. Morgan Proof STUNNING PROOF QUALITY Shown larger than actual size of 38.1 mm in diameter Your proof arrives secured in a crystal-clear holder. www.bradfordexchange.com/morganproofs Treasured Morgans Return in PRIORITY RESERVATION CERTIFICATE Stunning Proof Quality the BRADFORD E XC HANGE Few coins hold the allure of the Morgan Silver Dollar, especially the elusive Mint Morgan Proofs. Millions were minted between 1878 and 1904, and once more in 1921, yet very few were ever struck in proof condition.