Friedman Makes More Sense than Krugman on Gas Tax

Tom Friedman is, for better and for worse, now back from his op-ed sabbatical.  In today's column, he hits a bulls-eye on the McCain/Clinton gas tax holiday.  Meanwhile, in his latest blog entry, Paul Krugman proves, once and for all, that he's in the tank for HRC.

Krugman openly acknowledges that the whole idea is nuts.  Like Friedman, he points out the economic fallacies behind the move.  Unlike Friedman, however, he lets HRC off the hook for her latest bad idea.

Krugman distinguishes HRC's plan from McCain's plan by emphasizing her call for a windfall profits tax.  He then says that the scheme will never pass, so it really doesn't matter.  He closes by noting that, despite this glaring error, HRC is still better than Obama b/c she's better on health care mandates, and, as we all know, health care mandates are the defining 2008 issue that trumps all other concerns.

I am a strong cultural Catholic and a lukewarm religious Catholic.  My biggest problem, by far, w/ the Church is its monomaniacal focus on abortion.  Allowing that issue to trump pre-emptive war, global warming, and other issues that clearly deserve at least equal billing has been a mistake of epic proportions.  Krugman is making a similar mistake here.

In 2004, John Kerry openly flirted w/ the idea of having McCain as his running mate.  In 2008, HRC has, on far too many occasions, run as though she is seeking a spot on McCain's ticket.  In the past few months, we have seen:

1. WJC tell audiences that HRC and McCain are very close;

2. HRC has stated that, unlike Obama, she and McCain are qualified to be CIC;

3. Both HRC and McCain pounce on the Rev. Wright issue w/ both feet even though she has issues w/ Douglas Coe and McCain has issues w/ John Hagee; and

4. McCain "joked" about bombing Iran, while HRC threatened to "obliterate" Iran;

5. Each has relied upon a Burson-Marsteller lobbyist to craft campaign stategy; and

6. They now both support the gas tax holiday.

One or 2 of these items can be dismissed as mere coincidences.  When one sees 6 such items in a span of a few months, however, a pattern becomes obvious.  While I'm not forecasting the remote possibility of a ticket featuring those 2 candidates, a disturbing # of similarities have developed between their respective positions on a variety of topics.

HRC and McCain are both DC insiders who have benefitted from the status quo and have no desire to materially change it.  While they have pinned the "elitist" tag on Obama, each of their respective spouses have given them $100 million reasons to hope that things pretty well stay the way they are.  A McCain/HRC GE campaign would be waged over molehills while entire mountain ranges were largely ignored.

Krugman was once my favorite NYT columnist, and he was one of my favorite columnists in any publication.  He fought the good fight on a lot of issues through some very difficult times.  In this campaign, however, he has not merely missed the bus--he has missed planes, trains, and automobiles as well.

Tom Friedman told the truth today--McCain and HRC are essentially selling the same nostrum w/ their respective gas tax holidays, and Obama didn't join that pandering parade.  Krugman, however, has become so wedded to his health care mandate obsession that he has lost his capacity for independent judgment.  I am sorry to have seen the day when Friedman is making far more sense on an important issue than Krugman is.