Do Facts Matter?

Thomas Sowell wrote a customarily brilliant article over at National Review Online. In it he wonders whether facts matter in political campaigns or if it is only the perception of facts that count.

“The media are not alone in keeping the facts from the public. Republicans, for reasons unknown, don’t seem to know what it is to counterattack. They deserve to lose.

But the country does not deserve to be put in the hands of a glib and cocky know-it-all, who has accomplished absolutely nothing beyond the advancement of his own career with rhetoric, and who has for years allied himself with a succession of people who have openly expressed their hatred of America.”

Republicans would be wise to heed his advice.

Republicans must constantly present the facts to Americans. With every breath, McCain, Palin, and the RNC should tell Americans that Obama was the second largest recipient of contributions from the two main institutions responsible for our current financial mess, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and that Obama counts among his advisers former Freddie Mac CEO Franklin Raines who made off with $90 million while steering the company to disaster.

I want to think that Americans are not dumb enough to elect Obama president. We need to give them all the facts they need to prove that they're not.