Just before he was elected president in 2008, Barack Obama promised to “fundamentally transform” America.  Sad to say, after eight years as Chief Executive, he has largely succeeded. Were Hillary Clinton to win the presidency in 2016, she has promised to fulfill Obama’s goals.  (I write this with some diffidence, since I remember what the late Yogi Berra said about the trouble with predictions.) If Donald Trump were to be elected, would things be greatly different?  (Again, I’m reminded of Yogi’s warning about making predictions.)  [Even so, before closing, let’s speculate about what a Trump presidency might bring.] First, however, we must examine how has America been transformed from the type of political system created by the Constitution’s framers in 1787:  i.e., a limited government, with specified powers, separation of powers, and federalism? The U.S. is now largely a European-style, cradle-to-grave...(Read Full Post)