Federalist 51 to the Rescue

Yesterday I wondered where Al was going. The answer is, delightfully, Federalist paper 51. To quote Al:

The "auxiliary precautions" he [Madison] had in mind were the checks and balances that our Founders use in their design of the Constitution in order to prevent the unhealthy concentration of too much power in the hands of a few--and thereby to force those in authority to justify their views to one another by applying the rule of reason. When those in power are forced into a process of deliberation, then and only then will reason play its necessary central role. The separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are therefore essential to create the virtual space within which reason operates in American democracy.

I'm not one of those guys who can quote the Federalists chapter and verse, but I do remember this much from my College political science courses: it is not reason, faith, or even institutions which capture the unique character of the American founding, but deliberation. For me, this is where Gore wins the prize. The Assault on Reason is at time a polemic against President Bush, but contains, nonetheless, plenty of intelligent analysis and insight.

For this, I'll call Al a hero.