THE WEEK

Jesse Jackson may run for mayor of Washington. Serve them both right.

□ You don’t have to be Machiavelli to tear your hair over the political gaucherie of the Bush Administration, which has fallen HL&S for the Democrats’ favorite trick, “Raise the Minimum Wage!” This classic sting works as follows: The Democrats note with indignation that the minimum wage is a measly $X. They propose to raise it to a generous $X + $1. The “mark” (Democratic patois for a Republican President) doesn’t retort with reminders of property rights, the free market, or the self-defeating inefficiency of the minimum wage. No, he cries: “That’s too much! I’ll have to veto it! But how about if we compromise on $X + 49?” Laughing on the inside, the Democrats shriek: “Isn’t that just like a heartless Republican skinflint who knows nothing of the problems of ordinary people? Have you ever tried to support a starving family on $X + 49¢?” So it has gone in this case. George Bush concedes the principle, and haggles over the details. We realize there’s one born every minute, but why must he always grow uptobea Republican?

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Jesse Jackson may run for mayor of Washington. Serve them both right.

□ You don’t have to be Machiavelli to tear your hair over the political gaucherie of the Bush Administration, which has fallen HL&S for the Democrats’ favorite trick, “Raise the Minimum Wage!” This classic sting works as follows: The Democrats note with indignation that the minimum wage is a measly $X. They propose to raise it to a generous $X + $1. The “mark” (Democratic patois for a Republican President) doesn’t retort with reminders of property rights, the free market, or the self-defeating inefficiency of the minimum wage. No, he cries: “That’s too much! I’ll have to veto it! But how about if we compromise on $X + 49?” Laughing on the inside, the Democrats shriek: “Isn’t that just like a heartless Republican skinflint who knows nothing of the problems of ordinary people? Have you ever tried to support a starving family on $X + 49¢?” So it has gone in this case. George Bush concedes the principle, and haggles over the details. We realize there’s one born every minute, but why must he always grow uptobea Republican?