The worth of a public policy is not inversely proportional to how funny it sounds when you say it aloud. But McCain has built a career — and ensured countless press quotes — reading out superficially comical policy initiatives in a sardonic voice. I’ll bet you that Maureen Dowd’s column quoting his twitters will quickly climb its way up the New York Times most-read list. And every politician knows that they’re more likely to scotch a bill by finding something embarrassing in it than finding something wrong with it. So we’re not dealing with a situation where they’re just proud of their ignorance. They’re rewarded for it. How, then, do you get politicians and journalists to stop pulling this crap?