Posted by Bill

Let me begin by saying that I consider the constant year round public opinion polling to be a scourge on our democracy.  It turns legislators into "finger-in-the-wind" cowards and every issue into a "horse race" in the media with only superficial attention to the issues.

That said, I admit to looking at them, and it's hard not to notice the recent rise of Obama in the approval polls.  Since we all know that trees grow to the sky and trends continue forever, this means it is now a done deal that he, like Slick Willie before him, will successfully "tack to the center" and win re-election.  Right?  How discouraging.

Today's Wall Street Journal editorial page provides a useful reminder that Obama is no more moving to the center than is Keith Olbermann.  The Journal provided valuable op-ed space to Ed's "Chairman Zero" where he impressed one and all with his new regulatory review emphasizing cost benefit analysis.  Yea!

Now we learn that among the "benefits" to be considered are "values that are difficult of impossible to quantify, including equity, human dignity, fairness, and distributive impacts."  Wow!  So vague and sweeping are these alleged benefits, that a regulation could cost Industry X $10 billion and yet stand if it "increased human dignity" by $11 billion in the bureaucratic mind.

Please folks, don't be fooled.