Whether we should run deficits isa much more complicatedquestion. (The following borrows heavily from a terrific paper by Doug Elmendorf and Greg Mankiw.) We should borrow to finance investments that will pay off over time.
As discussed in yesterday's posting, the question of attribution is very complicated, and a lot of the most interesting discussions of the last few days have been on the basis of deep background.
There is no question that the branding game isa lot more complicated than it was back when Don Draper and his team could knock out a competitive story line for a product in a matter of hours, if not minutes.
But the vacancy question may be complicated by the fact that Gov. Jesse Ventura is empowered to appoint a successor to fill the seat until the November election.