January 31, 2008

JAMES TARANTO:

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.