Oz never did give nothing to the strawman...

...sorry, tin man. But the administration prefers the straw man, as in the homonymous logical fallacy.

No End to the Phony Populism

On the same day this week, Americans were offered two examples of the politics of aggression and evasion. In both instances, politicians sought to duck hard issues by inventing an elitist enemy. In both, they ascribed to their adversaries views their critics don't hold, and never did.

Take, first, the case that received little attention. Campaigning at the Ohio headquarters of the Wendy's fast-food chain for his proposal to expand health savings accounts, President Bush dismissed critics who contend that the accounts "are not a solution for the uninsured, they're regressive, they favor the wealthy."

That was an accurate enough description of the opponents' criticisms, but then came this zinger: "It's kind of basically saying, if you're not making a lot of money you can't make decisions for yourself. That's kind of a Washington attitude, isn't it -- we'll decide for you, you can't figure it out yourself. I think a lot of folks here at Wendy's would argue that point of view is just simply backwards and not true."

But opponents of Bush's plan are not "kind of basically saying" anything of the sort. They want people "not making a lot of money" to have a chance to buy affordable health insurance. They are arguing that HSAs, as the accounts are known, would offer a lot of money to the most well-off among our fellow citizens without increasing health coverage. Indeed, there is good evidence, mustered this week by the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that HSAs would instead lead to a net increase in the number of uninsured.

The Bushco motto: No lie left behind in the battle against humane governance. Ah, the dynamic duo from Munchkin Land. One needs a heart; the other a brain. Unfortunately for America, neither one has a soul.

Technorati Tags: Bush, Dubya, HSA, bamboozlepalooza, lies, straw men