This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

I'm Caleb Brown.

As we head a new Thanksgiving weekend, it's worth taking stock of the year so far.

David Boz, Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute, offered his perspective

on recent events at Cato Club 200 at the end of September.

In the speech, Boz describes the contemporary challenges to liberty, the sprawling government vision

that President Obama brought with him into the White House and the bubbling up of

popular resentment at government workers. This is a longer than normal podcast for those of you on the road this holiday weekend.

Enjoy.

These have been very exciting times in politics lately.

Whatever side of the big issues you're on, there's a lot of excitement, there's a lot of energy,

there are a lot of things happening.

And I'm sure you all remember that from 2006 to 2008 all the energy in American politics was on the left.

It was all focused on get Bush out, get the Republicans out, much more of a focus, I think, on getting the Republicans

out of office than getting any particular Democrat in.

Nevertheless, they did find a Democrat who excited a lot of people who won more votes than any Democratic

candidate had since Lyndon Johnson.

And Barack Obama swept in on a wave of enthusiasm after a hard fought election.

You had kind of an era of good feeling.

People found him young, cool, a symbol of America's getting past its racial problems, all of that.

He swept in on a wave of enthusiasm.

He passed this huge economic stimulus bill within a month of taking office and from the time

...