Like so many people, I would not be where I am today without Irving Kristol. When people called him the “Godfather of neoconservatism,” they meant the term affectionately. Irving touched the lives of more people in his position as talent-spotter-in-chief and dispenser of seed money throughout the Reagan wing of American politics. One of his projects financed a book by a Wall Street Journal editorial writer, Jude Wanniski, published as The Way the World Works. Jude’s book even more than George Gilder’s excellent Wealth and Poverty gave politicians the tools with which to argue the Reagan tax cuts. Irving launched Jude as a voice in American politics, and I hitched a ride. In 1991 I was the chief economist at Jude’s consulting firm Polyconomics and had the honor to share a panel with Irving at a conference. I had brought my then eighteen-month-old daughter to the event and only half-jokingly asked for his rabbinical blessing for her (Irving dutifully put his hand on the little girl’s head).
My story is commonplace. There are hundreds of people who got their start, or a decisive bit of help, from Irving via the American Enterprise Institute or other foundations.
Brilliant as he was, Irving’s influence surpassed many times over what the cleverest writer might have accomplished solo. The Reagan revolution simply could not have happened without him. I have a personal reason to be grateful to him, but the world owes him an even greater debt of gratitiude.
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