P.J. O'Rourke: "Where Was the Government with Studebaker?" Part One

P.J. ORourke is a 21st-century H.L. Mencken—a libertarian satirist and quote-machine whos deeply suspicious of most any office-holder (Politics is the attempt to achieve power and prestige without merit).

Since the 1970s, ORourke has written for all kinds of publications, including Playboy, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Automobile, and The National Lampoon. He is the H.L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, a regular correspondent to for The Atlantic Monthly, and the best-selling author of 12 books, the latest of which is Driving Like Crazy: 30 Years of Vehicular Hell-Bending.

In June, Reason.tvs Ted Balaker sat down with ORourke at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Topics include: bailouts, who ruined the U.S. auto industry, politicians love affair with trains, how easy women made O'Rourke a youthful socialist and how getting a paycheck turned him into a libertarian.

Part one of two. This interview produced by Ted Balaker. Director of photography is Alex Manning, editor is Nate Chaffetz, and associate producer is Paul Detrick.