The Good Old Days

Bruce Bartlett's article today is on how presidential politics have changed since the good old days. Back in the good old days, before focus groups and the "science" of polling, it was hard for politicians to know just want voters wanted. But nowadays its easy.

Politicians are too busy raising money and journalists are too busy faking documents to bother with talking to real people. Instead, they rely on public opinion polls and focus groups arranged by professional pollsters to tell them what people are thinking. Gone are the days when a politician would figure out for himself how to vote. Today, all he wants to know is which way the is wind blowing.

John Kerry is a perfect example of the danger of this approach. On the day he had to cast a vote for the Iraq invasion, the wind was blowing in a pro-war direction, so he voted "yea." Then later, when the wind had reversed course, he voted to deny funding for the troops in Iraq. Thus, he was simultaneously pro-war and antiwar.

Well actually I'm not sure this plays out. Had the polls really changed by the time he voted against the $87 Billion? Let's see.

The vote for the approval of the $87 Billion was on October 17, 2003 (my birthday). At that time according to the Pew Charitable Trust, support for the war (or, those who thought going to war was the right decision) was still around 60%. Down from previous highs, but still greater than 50%.

But underlying this "critique" is the idea that Senator Kerry made his decision strictly based on poll numbers. I assume they are taking this tack because they want to claim that President Bush, no matter how boneheaded some of his decisions may be, at least he's not listening to the polls. No, President Bush is a man who governs from the heart, and even if his plans totally fail, at least he's a man for all of that.

Unfortunately we have another example of proof by assertion. Bartlett doesn't have any proof or even evidence that Senator Kerry voted based on polls; but he's comfortable making that the center of his argument anyway. Assuming this works, remember "Sending Me Money is More Fun than Ten Trips to Disneyland."