THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN….Over at National Review, a certain J. Edward Carter explains how the budget went from a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion in 2001 to a projected deficit of $2.9 trillion today. The answer is: blah blah blah. Specious projections, a runaway Congress, Osama bin Laden, etc. etc. But any claims that President Bush “frittered away” the surplus are just the sheerest moonshine.
Whatever. But who is J. Edward Carter? His tagline says, mysteriously, only that “Mr. Carter is an economist in Washington, D.C.” What does that J stand for?
Answer: James. He’s James E. Carter, deputy undersecretary for international affairs in the Department of Labor. In other words, a political appointee in the Bush administration. I wonder why National Review didn’t want anyone to know this?
UPDATE: Kathryn Jean Lopez acknowledges the mistake and apologizes here.
