New math, or new grammar?

McCain says we’ve “drawn down to pre-surge levels” in Iraq.
Well, technically, no, but we WILL BE down to pre-surge troop levels by the end of July.
Well, actually, not quite, but we WILL BE down to 12,000 MORE TROOPS than the pre-surge level by the end of July.
Why are you nit-picking?

In McCain World, 155,000 = 132,000.

Or maybe the present tense is equivalent to the future tense.

Or maybe 144,000 = 132,000 AND the present tense is equivalent to the future tense.

Or something.

Look! Over there! Isn’t it terrible how gaffe-prone Barack Obama is?

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com