David Brooks is shocked — shocked! that anyone could accuse John McCain, who has a lobbyist working out of his own campaign bus, of being too cozy with lobbyists.
David Brooks is right: it’s absurd for Barack Obama to charge that John McCain is too cozy with lobbyists. Why, McCain is so suspicious of the evils of lobbying that he keeps a top lobbyist on his very own campaign bus, just so McCain can make sure that the lobbyist, who’s also a top strategist, isn’t crossing any ethical lines as he lobbies on legislation before McCain’s very own Senate Commerce Committee. Now that’s integrity above and beyond the call of duty.
Shame on you, Barack!
Footnote As for Brooks’s praise of McCain’s “investigation” of Jack Abramoff: isn’t is just astonishing that he managed to run the whole investigation without damaging a single Republican Member of Congress or anyone in the White House? McCain isn’t just a man of sterling integrity; he’s a #$!%ing genius.
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
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