The Campaign Nonsense Du Jour

By Eugene Robinson
Washington Post
Friday, May 2, 2008;

There's something maddening about this presidential campaign. It has become irrelevant whether anything the candidates say actually makes sense. All that matters is how their words will "play" with voters who are presumed to be too stupid to realize that they're the ones being played.

The nonsense du jour is the "proposal" by Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton to suspend the federal gasoline tax. I put the word proposal in quotes because it's obvious that neither candidate is serious about this. They both must know that it won't happen, and they both must know why it shouldn't.

Actually, McCain might not understand why lifting the tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is a bad idea -- remember, he has confessed that the economy isn't his strong suit. I'd bet the ranch that Clinton understands, though. And before either campaign indignantly proclaims its candidate's total sincerity, I'd like to see the legislation that either of these U.S. senators has introduced to suspend the tax.

I'm still waiting.

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