Thanks to Toronto and the folks at the International Festival of Authors for the great turnout last night. We had about 250 people or so. I shared the stage with Jeff Madrick, an NYR contributor and one of America's leading economics writers, and Hugh Eakin, a senior editor at the Review. Jeff spoke on the economy and Hugh on foreign policy.
The last questioner asked each of us an interesting question. She was an Obama fan, she said, but she had moments of doubt about whether he could really deliver on everything that she hoped and everything that needed to be done. So -- were we really believers?
All three of us said for the most part, yes (I quoted "Canada's own Neil Diamond, who said 'I'm a Believer'" -- some people still don't know he wrote that song, you know). But I also said that liberals should remember that Obama will disappoint them. He's a slow-moving and deliberate incrementalist and he really does believe in consensus and post-partisanship where possible. Just something worth remembering.
Anyway, it was a great night, and then we had a drink at Sassafraz and dinner at True and I can recommend both.
