Winning the future is a worthy goal – it's better than the alternative – but there is no reason to think Mr. Obama can lead us there. The president is a true believer in the idea that the state should be the guiding force in society, that the government is an unqualified source of good, and that all the challenges American society faces are Big Brother's to solve. His heart, his soul, his intellect are defined by the impulse to place government at the center of American life.