Stossel uses the title of F.A. Hayek’s classic text on the economics and the state as a jumping off point for some much needed Libertarian criticism of the Democrats clamoring for “action” on the economy by their new dear leader:

It’s exciting that the world is so excited about Barack Obama. I’m excited, too. That he achieved the presidency says something good about America.

But the excitement also frightens me. It reinforces the worst impulse of the media and political class: the assumption that all progress comes from Washington. In a free society, with constitutionally limited government, the president would be a mere executive who sees to it that predictable and understandable laws are enforced. But sadly, the prestige and power of the presidency have grown, and liberty has contracted. That is not something to celebrate.

Read the rest, it’s well worth your time to see the level headed Libertarianism of Stossel making the points about an Obama administration the Alex Jones Libertarians miss in their zeal to claim Obama is the anti-Christ. Stossel is on the mark in his critique of the cultural shift Obama represents slowly eroding our sense of individual worth and responsibility.