Chris Wallace *nails* Rick Davis.
IN 1960, when a Wall Street Journal editorial dinged Richard Nixon for something, JFK said “That’s like L’Osservatore Romano criticizing the Pope.”
Chris Wallace on Fox News today asked Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager why (1) the campaign was so negative and (2) so much of the negative stuff was misleading. Wallace had his facts handy, even including a graphic from the Tax Policy Center. Davis shucked and jived.
Then Wallace nailed Davis again, on McCain’s having voted with Bush 95% of the time. Davis shucked and jived some more.
Then Wallace nailed Davis again on the Ohio airport deal, and Davis set a new Olympic record for shucking and jiving. I guess he wasn’t expecting L’Osservatore Romano to criticize the Pope.
I’m hoping this will give reporters at non-Republican networks license to ask some of the same tough questions.
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
View all posts by Mark Kleiman