A Great Drinking Game For Wednesday's Debate

Paul Krugman of the New York Times beats Bush to the punch by detailing the distortions and lies he believes Bush will repeat on Wednesday night. He details seven items, so any college students (who aren't driving) can have fun taking a chug every time Bush repeats one of these lies anyway. Then Krugman writes almost word for word the argument I've been repeating to my brother all this week.

"By singling out Mr. Bush's lies and misrepresentations, am I saying that Mr. Kerry isn't equally at fault? Yes.

"Mr. Kerry sometimes uses verbal shorthand that offers nitpickers things to complain about. He talks of 1.6 million lost jobs; that's the private-sector loss, partly offset by increased government employment. But the job record is indeed awful. He talks of the $200 billion cost of the Iraq war; actual spending is only $120 billion so far. But nobody doubts that the war will cost at least another $80 billion. The point is that Mr. Kerry can, at most, be accused of using loose language; the thrust of his statements is correct.

"Mr. Bush's statements, on the other hand, are fundamentally dishonest. He is insisting that black is white, and that failure is success. Journalists who play it safe by spending equal time exposing his lies and parsing Mr. Kerry's choice of words are betraying their readers."