The critique of Giuliani came to an immediate end, and so did hopes for a new era of government activism.

Progressives at last are noticing that the best argument for government activism is that it works.

Glazer, however, has not changed his view that government activism on behalf of the poor is largely self-defeating.

"He's willing to tolerate a level of government activism that perhaps he wouldn't have been willing to embrace before those attacks."

Critics of government activism say blame the people who do harm rather than expecting government to run people's lives.

By all accounts, there was no grand political plan to embrace government activism suddenly - events forced the administration's hand.

F.D.R.'s mission in office was to show that government activism works.

Their belief that government activism can lead to benign policy changes has been echoed in the priority given by the administration to health care reform.

This reflects the more general turn away from government activism in recent decades.

So the Democratic platform, seeking to re-legitimate government activism, avoids the controversial subjects.