by John Tyler

Created on: December 10, 2009

It can be argued that most of the differences in political discourse today extend from ideological differences; whether of liberal or conservative descent. Political thought is not limited to ideology mainly because ideology often is crafted by temperament; or how one behaves when immersed in a given situation.

Classical conservative temperament would suggest that society is careful with the modifications it makes to create improvement, as to not lose the already existing good we have, or that things should be modified carefully and slowly over time rather than quickly and rash.

There has been political discussion that President Obama is temperamentally conservative, and in some regards this argument would hold ground; similarly, as classical conservatism and conservative temperament is not limited to the Republican Party, the grounds by which it can connect to liberalism are limited by the nature of the two political disciplines.

President Obama, as some younger supporters have noted both in the media as well as blogs, brings what is seen as a “fresh” approach to the political arena; some argue it is due in large part to his temperamentally conservative approach. While many of Obama’s policies and agendas are ideologically liberal, it is on record that he was not being opposed to a war in Iraq, rather opposed to a dumb war.

Many of his policies could be seen as the best solution to a given problem, rather than a grand plan to make society a better place, a philosophy that often applies to liberalism. Although, these instances can be found and argued for it may be a bit of a stretch to apply the title of a temperamental conservative to President Obama.

When looking at programs for universal healthcare, campaign promises of cheap college, and a country fueled on new energy; the conservative temperament argument loses weight.

As Burke would argue “sir, all those who attempt to level, never equalize”. This in many ways is the argument behind classical conservatism, that often times in seeking to create a greater society “all these advantages in ancient states” exist and then the decision is made to “act as if you had never been molded into civil society” and to “begin ill, because you began by despising everything that belonged to you”.

Although Burke is referring to the revolutionaries who sparked and fought for the French Revolution; his argument extends to an ideological and temperament

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