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Department of Cheap Grace

June 30, 2009

So President Obama was just joshing when he said there would be no tax hike on folks earning less than $250,000. His top aide, Chicago fixer David Axelrod, says those silly promises won't be allowed to stand in the way of the Greater Good. Joseph Thorndike calls this "refreshing":

Weasel arguments trying to square categorical pledges with political realities are dangerous. They encourage (more) voter cynicism and obstruct useful policy development. Better to simply acknowledge the reality. Which, after all, is not such an unpleasant one, at least for Democrats.

Which is why Axelrod's admission is welcome. It was also probably unavoidable -- trying to reconcile the health benefits tax with Obama's over-broad campaign promise was never going to fly. But it's still a step in the direction of political truth telling. Which is a refreshing change.

If welshing on campaign promises (less politely known as "lying") is refreshing, we've been well refreshed for lo these many years. What would really be refreshing is if politicians actually were honest before the election, while we could still do something about it.