One of my favorite Washington reporters is Donald Lambro* of The Washington Times. Don has a fascinating new piece out making the point that while the Democratic presidential contenders are sounding awfully lefty at the moment, catering to the nutroots, their economic advisers are, by and large, a centrist lot. Most do not favor large increases in marginal tax rates, most favor free trade, and some are open-minded on market-based alternatives to transfer programs. That doesn’t mean that a future President Clinton, Obama, or Edwards wouldn’t implement bad ideas, but it does signify how far the debate on economic policy has shifted over the past 30 years — which is in itself a notable achievement for the conservative movement.
* I was once an intern for Don, which allowed me the opportunity to get Capitol Hill press credentials and attend Oliver North’s testimony at the Iran-Contra hearings with Morgan Fairchild. Well, okay, she wasn’t technically with me — she sat near me — but the story sounds better the first way.