David Frum has written some very good books: I loved Dead Right and How We Got Here. I’m sorry that Comeback doesn’t meet their high standards; and even sorrier that he chose to defend it from the mild criticisms I made in National Review in the way that he did. But perhaps I should have cut him a little more slack given the understandable pride of authorship.

In his latest post, he accuses Yuval Levin and me of writing an op-ed whose “argument is borrowed whole and entire from that of my book.” Really? Levin and I recommend that Republicans expand the child tax credit–an argument I have been making in print for three years (see, e.g., here). We suggest that Republicans make free-market health care a bigger priority: an argument I have been making for a decade (including here). And we argue that we need to get immigration under control: an argument I have been making for six years. And I am pretty sure that Levin, who did not deserve to be dragged into this argument, has not read Frum’s book. Nevertheless he has managed to write quite intelligently about immigration, health care, and what conservatives can do for parents, and in the same vein that we write here.

Frum is quite right that he and I agree on the need for Republicans to offer an agenda that helps the lower middle class, which is why I thought it was foolish of him to pretend, in his earlier posts, that I disagreed.

Update: Frum has softened the wording of his post slightly, without acknowledging the change or changing the meaning.