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NEW FEATURE: BRUTAL ASSAULT ON REASON WATCH

September 19, 2008

This week's headlines have provided constant reminders of Arnold Kling's cri de coeur:

To me, political campaigns are not sacred events, to be eagerly anticipated and avidly followed. They are brutal assaults on reason. I look forward to election season about as much as a gulf coast resident looks forward to hurricane season.

Today we launch "Brutal Assault on Reason Watch," where we will highlight statements by politicians that in a just world would require them to be bound, gagged and banished to a remedial economics course for the rest of their natural lives. So we begin.

First, John McCain:

But first McCain went after SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, a former Republican congressman. McCain said the SEC under Cox was "asleep at the switch" and "kept in place trading rules that let speculators and hedge funds turn our markets into a casino."

"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and in my view has betrayed the public's trust. If I were president today, I would fire him," McCain added, prompting loud cheers.

So it's Christopher Cox's fault that he couldn't prevent Fannie and Freddie - two agencies that he doesn't regulate - from bankrupting themselves? It's his fault that the SEC - which doesn't regulate the insurance industry - couldn't prevent AIG from writing bad credit default insurance? And he was supposed to stop this... how?

Now to the other side:

This crisis serves as a stark reminder of the failures of crony capitalism and an economic philosophy that sees any regulation at all as unwise and unnecessary. It’s a philosophy that lets Washington lobbyists shred consumer protections and distort our economy so it works for the special interests instead of working people; a philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to the rest.

That's rich - McCain opposes regulation? Virginia Postrel has a more accurate description: