MODUS TOLLENS, MODUS PONENS, MODUS DEMOCRATICUS

Squandering Prosperity (Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect, 6/1/2003)

George W. Bush has the worst economic record of any president since Herbert Hoover.

Have you noticed that Democratic intellectuals don't seem to reason forward from assumptions toward unknown conclusions, but backward from conclusions toward rationalizations? And the conclusions, generally, are political slogans. This one -- "worst economy since Herbert Hoover" -- has been the Old Faithful of Democratic campaigns since Ike.

My prediction: we'll hear it a lot next year.

Posted by Paul Jaminet at May 16, 2003 12:10 PM