Colin Powell on the role of government

Last week, Colin Powell generated some headlines when he expressed some concern that President Obama might be trying to take on too many issues at once. I think this criticism misses the point, but it is a fair criticism nonetheless.

Just prior to making that critique, Powell said something even more interesting. He argued that politicians and political parties who advocate "limited government" or "small government" are engaging in political sloganeering and empty rhetoric. He argues that the "right answer" is "give me a government that works".

First of all, how is "give me a government that works" not a political slogan?

Second, promoting the idea of "limited government" is not sloganeering. It is a political philosophy, and it happens to be the political philosophy on which this country was founded and operated under until early last century.

I wonder if anyone has ever pointed this out to him.