Friday, January 18, 2008

David Frum's Latest Self-Defense   [Ramesh Ponnuru]

If David really believes that I find "policy solution-finding in itself somehow silly or amateurish," and am more interested in a Rove-like hunt for demographic groups to court, then he hasn't been reading me very much, doesn't care about the truth, or has gotten too invested in a self-image as the last serious conservative.

As for my comment that Frum's empiricism is theoretical, let me amplify it here: Frum has a knack for finding the arresting fact that is interesting, if true. The trouble is that too many of his facts are not true. I find that none of his facts can be trusted without independent verification. Again and again when one looks at the evidence underlying his claims, it falls short. And in other cases he mentions the factual questions that would be important to resolve to judge his policy recommendations, without ever even attempting to figure out the facts in dispute. That's what I meant when I said his empiricism is theoretical. And why I think that while there are some good things in Comeback, it will detract from Frum's reputation as a serious thinker.

01/18 02:18 PMShare