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Debit Cards vs Cash   The Third Fall of Victor Niederhoffer
Oct 8 2007 2:14PM EDT

Numeracy in the White House

Why is it that Saturday Night Live applies more critical judgment to Fred Thompson's statements than the Wall Street Journal does? The WSJ's Amy Schatz lapses into full-on stenographer mode today:

Mr. Thompson has advocated reining in discretionary spending and has been particularly critical of the Medicare drug-benefits program that Congress passed four years ago. He said he wouldn't have voted for it.
"I know this probably isn't a real popular thing to say, but we couldn't afford this prescription-drug bill," Mr. Thompson said last week on a swing through Iowa, home of Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, who helped push the program through Congress. "We basically put a $72 trillion commitment on top of an already-broken entitlement system. Not a responsible thing to do."

Yep, $72 trillion. He said that. It's utter bollocks, but he said it all the same, and he meant it.

It would be great if the next president of the United States had a basic level of numeracy. I think we can rule Fred Thompson out, but if we start down this path, will there be any candidates left? Indeed, has there been a president since Nixon with a real intuitive grasp of numbers?

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