20170123_cover61404-postal.qxd 1/3/2017 7:40 PM Page 1 January 23, 2017 $4.99 THE EDITORS DAVID PRYCE-JONES MATTHEW WALTHER The D.C. Circuit’s Mistake The Maligning of Israel Winnie-the-Pooh at 90 MICHAEL KNOX BERAN OuttaOuttaTHOMAS C. DONNELLYHereHere RICHARD FONTAINE $4.99 HENRY OLSEN 04 RAMESH PONNURU LUKE THOMPSON 0 74820 08155 6 www.nationalreview.com base_new_milliken-mar 22.qxd 1/3/2017 12:59 PM Page 1 ARE YOU PREPARED TO REBUILD? This highly anticipated follow-up to William R. Forstchen’s New York Times bestsellers, One Second After and One Year After, immerses readers once more in the story of our nation’s struggle to rebuild after an electromagnetic pulse wipes out all electricity and plunges the country into darkness, starvation, and terror. Also Available “Forstchen is the prophet of a new Dark Age. The wise will listen.” Tackling an issue so important it has become —STEPHEN COONTS the topic of a congressional debate, this series asks what if the US was struck by an EMP thefi naldaynovel.com and how would we rebuild. TOC--ready_QXP-1127940144.qxp 1/4/2017 2:01 PM Page 1 Contents JANUARY 23, 2017 | VOLUME LXIX, NO. 1 | www.nationalreview.com ON THE COVER Page 24 Obama’s Young Garden Obama planted a number of political Matthew Walther on Winnie-the-Pooh seeds during his tenure, seeds that p. 22 could, in the hands of a skilled gardener, blossom quickly if Donald Trump and the BOOKS, ARTS Republican Congress don’t govern & MANNERS wisely. If Obama’s strategy played poorly 35 THE SOUL OF MENCKEN in the short term, we cannot yet dismiss Lauren Weiner reviews Damning Words: The Life and Religious the possibility that it will play out quite Times of H. L. Mencken, well over the coming years. Henry Olsen by D. G. Hart. 36 THE FEMINIST ECONOMY COVER: ROMAN GENN George Gilder reviews Men without Work: America’s Invisible Crisis, by Nicholas Eberstadt. ARTICLES 38 INDIAN COUNTRY 16 A NON-TRANSFORMATIONAL PRESIDENT by Ramesh Ponnuru Travis Kavulla reviews The Earth Obama was not the Left’s Reagan. Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the DOCTRINE OF DECLINE by Thomas C. Donnelly 17 American West, by Peter Cozzens. Obama has done lasting damage to the military. IT DIDN’T HAPPEN HERE AFTER THE FALL by Michael Knox Beran 40 19 John J. Miller discusses Sinclair Lewis. Obama’s last sermon. GOING ROGUE THE MALIGNING OF ISRAEL by David Pryce-Jones 42 20 Ross Douthat reviews Rogue One: Obama’s simplistic reversal of American diplomatic tradition. A Star Wars Story. WINNIE-THE-POOH AT 90 by Matthew Walther 22 43 BIRD’S-EYE VIEW Judging Milne’s famous novels as literature. Richard Brookhiser watches pigeons and sparrows. FEATURES 24 OBAMA’S YOUNG GARDEN by Henry Olsen SECTIONS He has planted seeds that progressives might someday harvest. Letters to the Editor RESTRAINT AND ITS DISCONTENTS by Richard Fontaine 2 26 4 The Week Evaluating two terms of Obama’s foreign policy. 33 Athwart . James Lileks The Long View . Rob Long OUR FAILED CYBERSECURITY POLICY by Luke Thompson 34 30 37 Poetry . Lee Oser Russian hacking requires a stronger response than it has received. 44 Happy Warrior . Daniel Foster 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., 2017. 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. Box 433015, Palm Coast, Fla. 32143-3015; phone, 386-246-0118, Monday–Friday, 8:00A.M . to 10:30 P.M. Eastern time. Adjustment requests should be accompanied by a current mailing label or facsimile. Direct classified advertising inquiries to: Classifieds Dept.,ATIONAL N REVIEW, 215 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 or call 212-679- 7330. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to N ATIONAL REVIEW, Circulation Dept., P. O. Box 433015, Palm Coast, Fla. 32143-3015. Printed in the U.S.A. RATES: $59.00 a year (24 issues). Add $21.50 for Canada and other foreign subscriptions, per year. (All payments in U.S. currency.) The editors cannot be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork unless return postage or, better, a stamped, self-addressed envelope is enclosed. Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors. letters--ready_QXP-1127940387.qxp 1/4/2017 1:52 PM Page 2 Letters JANUARY 23 ISSUE; PRINTED JANUARY 5 EDITORINCHIEF Beliefs of the 99 Percent Richard Lowry Senior Editors Richard Brookhiser / Jonah Goldberg / Jay Nordlinger Ramesh Ponnuru / David Pryce-Jones Kevin D. Williamson attempts (“Superman Politics,” December 31) to articulate Managing Editor Jason Lee Steorts Literary Editor Michael Potemra complex economic policy for the 0.4 percent “who follow these things closely.” Vice President, Editorial Operations Christopher McEvoy That makes me part of the 99.6 percent who don’t and simply go on with our lives Executive Editor Reihan Salam Roving Correspondent Kevin D. Williamson being skeptical of any economic policy. National Correspondent John J. Miller Senior Political Correspondent Jim Geraghty I enjoyed Williamson’s article, as he was definitive in his analysis of Trump- Art Director Luba Kolomytseva Deputy Managing Editors Pence’s Carrier subsidy right up until he states that “there is no broader logic at Nicholas Frankovich / Fred Schwarz work.” The 99.6 percent heard a campaign promise to “reduce the corporate tax Production Editor Katie Hosmer Assistant to the Editor Rachel Ogden rate” and “remove every job-robbing regulation” and “accompanying executive Research Associate Alessandra Trouwborst orders.” Those, to us, are the “broader logic” ignored by Williamson. Contributing Editors Shannen Coffin / Ross Douthat / Daniel Foster I also objected to his denouncement of Pence, whom the 99 percent view as a Roman Genn / Arthur L. Herman / Lawrence Kudlow Mark R. Levin / Yuval Levin / Rob Long hero in the debates and a calming force for Trump. I’ll continue to believe that Mario Loyola / Jim Manzi / Andrew C. McCarthy Kate O’Beirne / Andrew Stuttaford / Robert VerBruggen Pence is not a “sniffer” but is the genuine article until proven otherwise. His influ- NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE ence on Trump makes Trump appear more “presidential.” Editor Charles C. W. Cooke Managing Editor Katherine Connell Williamson’s treatment of the Carrier deal’s being “symbolic” is easily under- Deputy Managing Editor Mark Antonio Wright stood by the 99 percent, but we believe it is merely a distraction from Trump’s National-Affairs Columnist John Fund Staff Writer David French broader economic policy. Reporter Katherine Timpf Associate Editors Molly Powell / Nick Tell Digital Director Ericka Andersen Frank Sardina Technical Services Russell Jenkins Web Editorial Assistant Grant DeArmitt Unionville, Va. Web Developer Wendy Weihs Web Producer Scott McKim EDITORS- AT- L A RG E Kathryn Jean Lopez / John O’Sullivan KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON RESPONDS: The fact that 99 percent of the people believe NATIONAL REVIEW INSTITUTE X, Y, or Z doesn’t make it so. Donald Trump has some good instincts on economic THOMASL. RHODESFELLOW Ian Tuttle policy, such as reforming the corporate tax code and the onerous federal regula- BUCKLEYFELLOWSINPOLITICALJOURNALISM tory structure. He also has some terrible ideas, such as using the corporate tax Alexandra DeSanctis / Austin Yack code as a political weapon and adding to the onerous federal regulatory structure COLLEGIATE NETWORK FELLOW Paul Crookston in ways that accord with his populist sensibilities. He also has a penchant for what amount to cheap publicity stunts, as in the Carrier matter. Given Trump’s history Contributors Hadley Arkes / James Bowman / Eliot A. Cohen and his character, my own inclination is to proceed with caution—lots of it. Dinesh D’Souza / Chester E. Finn Jr. / Neal B. Freeman James Gardner / David Gelernter / George Gilder Jeffrey Hart / Kevin A. Hassett / Charles R. Kesler David Klinghoffer / Anthony Lejeune / Michael Novak Alan Reynolds / Tracy Lee Simmons Terry Teachout / Vin Weber Deciphering Obama’s Foreign Policy Chief Financial Officer James X. Kilbridge Accounting Manager Galina Veygman Accountant Lyudmila Bolotinskaya Business Services Alex Batey When evaluating President Obama’s record and searching for justification for Circulation Manager Jason Ng Advertising Director Jim Fowler various foreign-policy decisions, reductive thinking can go a long way. While Advertising Manager Kevin Longstreet Associate Publisher Garrett Bewkes Arthur Herman is fundamentally correct in his review of Jay Solomon’s book Assistant to the Publisher Brooke Rogers on Iran (“Dangerous Gamble,” December 31), an understanding of radical Director of Revenue Erik Netcher PUBLISHERCHAIRMAN chic would tell you that the nuclear deal with Iran and the U.S. disengagement Jack Fowler John Hillen during the uprising in Tehran in 2009 were derived from a desire to apologize FOUNDER and make tangible amends for the seemingly inexcusable involvement of the William F. Buckley Jr. United States in the 1953 overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh. Remarkable PATRONS AND BENEFACTORS Robert Agostinelli perhaps, but not complicated when the core tendency, embraced by Obama, Dale Brott Mr. and Mrs. Michael Conway was and is to blame America first,