Asked about Mitch McConnell’s criticism of President Biden’s speech on election law and the filibuster, the White House press secretary said that the president (and the vice president) “clearly struck a nerve.” This line is especially ridiculous given that Senator Dick Durbin, the longtime No. 2 Democrat in his chamber, joined in the criticism (albeit gently). But this lazy formulation, and its near-equivalent “struck a chord,” should be retired generally. It attempts to convert the existence of strong criticism into proof that the criticism is wrong, which is obviously absurd.