The Good Argument We Can't Make
Michael Kinsley points out the sheer foolishness of Bush's new ad strategy labeling Kerry a serial tax raiser because in his 20 years in the Senate he's "voted to increase taxes 350 times."

"The best way to see the absurdity of saying that Kerry voted for higher taxes 350 times is to apply Bush's madcap logic to Bush himself. Every year, in the president's budget, there is a table called 'Effect of Proposals on Receipts.' It lists the president's proposed changes in the tax rules and how they will affect government revenue for various periods up to 15 years. Most of Bush's proposals will cost revenue, obviously. But in the four fiscal years between 2002 and 2005, Bush has proposed 63 actual 'revenue enhancers,' as his father used to call them. This doesn't include, as Bush includes for Kerry, his opposition to any tax cuts (and there have been some, such as Democratic proposals to reduce the payroll tax). Nor does the list seem to include any 'supply-side' revenue enhancement by magic or growth. These are actual proposals to take more money out of people's pockets and give it to the government.

At Bush's current rate of 16 "tax increases" a year, he'd have 320 under his belt if he could stay in the White House for 20 years."

The details are fun, but the reality is this is not an argument, again, Kerry has the luxury of having, even though it clearly shows the duplicity of the Bush team. This Presidential race will take enormous discipline and even when the other side is wrong or being unfair, deciding when to wage a response, and when not to, could decide the outcome. Kinsley makes the case better:

"The purpose of a phony statistic such as this one isn't to convince people of its own accuracy. The purpose is to trap your opponent in a discussion he doesn't want to have (in this case about his past votes on taxes), bog down the discussion in silly details that few people will follow, and leave a general impression that where there's smoke there must be fire."

I hope Kerry gets the chance to accuse the President of engaging in "fuzzy math" if Bush makes that particular 350-vote charge in a debate. But after that, stay out of the weeds and remind everyone what the President's tax policies have done to our economy.