Jennifer, I have to disagree. The opening minutes of the GOP debate tonight makes me think that the Republican party is once again at the front in the battle of ideas, at least on economics. Mitt Romney talked about corporate tax rates and private sector incentives; John McCain talked about pork barrel spending and the size of government; Rudy Giuliani spoke about the largest tax cut in history; Mike Huckabee made the case for old-style \ industrial policy and infrastructure spending; and Ron Paul argued for a strong dollar, better monetary policy, and deregulation. Despite the courtly tone, these are very different, if somewhat overlapping, views about the economy. Yes, these are broad, two-minute answers, but the various views are worth debating. Can anyone tell the difference on economic policy among Obama, Clinton, and Edwards? Obama
dislikes Reaganomics, Clinton hates corporations, and Edwards will spend
more on the poor. But is there any policy debate there?