i tend to gravitate most to -- what would be edmond burke or russell kirk.the virtue of prudence. and i would recommend -- if you want to know more about conservatism, i'd recommend blogging edmond burke or russell kirk. if i could recommend one book, it would be russell kirk a conservative mind which came out, i believe, in the '60s, '50s or '60s but that was kind of a movement book. >> so if you look around at political leaders who is closest to kirk and burke for you? >> it would have to be sarah palin. i think she's the premier conservative. she has three things going for her. she has the convictions. she's got the charisma. and most important, she's got the courage. the country right now is kind of heading very collectivist and we see economically we're having problems with unemployment and a slowing economy and a government that's really kind of getting out of areas that the constitution really has promoted. and i think sarah palin right now is the champion of the libertarians and conservative movement in america today. >> we were allowed to release 1,

the patron saint as you might say of conservatism, edmond burke, was -- formulated the approach the conservativesould take to reform. he was a reformist himself. but he -- he insisted that any reform be -- that you ensure that any reform is consistent with the fundamental principles of what he calls the english constitution. and that it not in any way undermine the foundation on which the country stands. and that's the position most conservatives take and it's a position i take. the question always is, which reform -- many reforms that i myself supported when i was a misguided leftist -- [laughter] >> like the war on poverty, and some of my friends by the way who fellow neoconservatives who actually helped write the legislation that made up the great society discovered that it had the effects -- the opposite of those that were intended. it did more harm to the poor than good. in various ways. that's been demonstrated over and over again. so to invoke something like, you know, compassion for the poor or the need to institute reforms when you keep supporting measures that presume or pretend to be f