During the Bush years, we occasionally heard that liberals who had long been skeptical of federalism and limited government were gaining new appreciation for these concepts. My suspicion was that this "new apprecitation" would last only as long as the Republicans controlled the government. So, it's not surprising to read this:

Amanda Shanor, president of the [American Constituion] society's chapter at Yale Law School, said many liberal students were submitting their résumés to the transition team. After long thinking that government was controlled by conservatives and must be curbed, she said, the students "feel like government now can be potentially a huge force for social justice."

Note to Yale liberal students, and others joining the Obama Administration: any new power that you win for Obama will eventually be used, and abused, by future Republican administrations. (And for that matter, you might not ultimately be so thrilled with how Obama or future Democratic president use the power, either; it's a categorical mistake to think the fundamental problem with abusive government is who is in power, rather than the existence of the power itself, combined with human nature.)

In fairness, I should point out that conservatives are notorious for talking a great limited government game while out of power, and, once appointed to any position of governmental authority, spending every waking moment trying to increase their fiefdom. Especially irksome are conservatives who advocate limited government when in opposition, become cabinet secretaries who lobby heavily to expand their departments' budgets, and later spend their "retirement" on the conservative rubber chicken circuit bemoaning "big government."