There is a school of thought that this year’s election will end up turning on economic anxiety rather than national security, especially with the threat of terrorism seeming less immediate than a few years ago, and the situation in Iraq having improved considerably. If this is so, then the leading campaigns in each party are not exactly inspiring great confidence.
I noticed this bit myself last night:
The economy is not John McCain’s strong suit, by his own admission. You would think this would inspire a bit of humility, but humility is not what comes across from reading the transcript of last night’s CNN debate at the Reagan Library. . . . Two of McCain’s comments–“I did it out of patriotism, not for profit” and “sometimes people lost their jobs”–lead us to think that McCain’s problem with economics goes beyond mere indifference. He seems to view the making of money–that is to say, the production of goods and services that people want, and the act of supplying them through voluntary exchange in a free market–as a less than honorable pursuit.
Indeed. But read the whole thing.