The transcript of Senator Cruz's speech at Liberty University announcing his presidential candidacy is up at the Washington Post's site and it is worth a look. I was struck by how Cruz was influenced by John F. Kennedy. Here is Mr. Cruz:
What is the promise of America? The idea that -- the revolutionary idea that this country was founded upon, which is that our rights don't come from man. They come from God Almighty.
And here is Kennedy's inaugural address:
the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
From a policy point of view, the most intriguing thing I noticed in the Cruz speech was his tax policy:
Instead of a tax code that crushes innovation, that imposes burdens on families struggling to make ends met, imagine a simple flat tax... that lets every American fill out his or her taxes on a postcard. Imagine abolishing the IRS.
