I attribute the fact that both Senator Clinton and Senator McCain proposed suspending the gas tax for the summer to focus groups results uncovered by their consultants. New York Times columnist David Leonhardt attributes this coincidence to their common instincts. Actually, that is a bit unfair. Leonhardt examines the economic positions taken by Senators Clinton and Obama to assess their instincts on economic issues. This looks like another venture in mind-reading. Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are politicians, and in fact are very successful politicians. Successful politicians are by definition good at saying things that get them votes. It is reasonable to believe that their statements on economic issues primarily reflect what they view to be popular political positions. It is not clear that their statements reveal much about their instincts. In this respect, it is worth noting that President Clinton ran his 1992 campaign on a promise of public investment, emphasizing spending on education, training, and infrastructure. Once in office, he actually cut these areas of these budget (measured as a share of GDP). He placed his primary focus on deficit reduction. It is not clear what one could have said about President Clinton's economic instincts based on his statements during the campaign or more importantly if his instincts had anything to do with the policies he pursued while in office.
--Dean Baker