Month: June 2013

Believe Me When I Say That I Want To Believe That I Can’t Believe In You.

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A recurring apparent conundrum is the mismatch between Congressional approval (about 14% approval and 78% disapproval) and reelection rates (about 91% in 2012).  If Americans disapprove of their legislators at such a high rate, why do they reelect them at an even higher rate?  PEOPLE BE CRAZY…AMIRITE? Maybe.  A traditional explanation is that people don’t … Read more

Just So You Know, I Won’t Know: The Politics of Plausible Deniability

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The IRS scandal, and in particular the handling (or, mishandling) of it by President Obama’s counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, has raised a classic question: what did the President know, and when did he know it? In my mind at least, the question is predicated on the presumption that the president ought to know everything that is going on … Read more