Andrew Ferguson, whose book party in D.C. I couldn’t attend because I neglected to pack grown-up clothes, demonstrates that Al Gore needs a better fact-checker (or, as we used to call them in the old days, "quote boy").
The invitation came through the good offices of a generous friend. Wish I could have gone, but the alternative entertainment was quite good on its own.
The lesson here is always bring business attire when you go to hang out with grown-ups.
Hard to believe the liberally-biased Washington Post even printed Ferguson's smackdown of Gore's inadequate fact-checking. But Ferguson has very much overstated his case regarding Lincoln being a "vigorous champion of market capitalism."
If any of the Dem candidates would utter such things (see link) today, you NLT guys would be screaming "Class Warrior!" at the top of your lungs and dismissing them as unserious.
Craig,
Read the whole passage from the 1861 address to Congress, not what the blogger has cherrypicked. The context is interesting, inasmuch as it is clear that AL has, above all else, the Confederacy in mind. And AL is very clearly a fan of economic mobility and dynamism, in which someone is first hired, then works on his own, and, finally, hires others. His vision is not of permanent classes--capitalists and workers, but rather of a dynamic economy that provides opportunity to all. This strikes me as consistent with his work as a prominent corporate lawyer in Illinois and a longtime proponent of internal improvements. In short, I don't think AF is as far off the mark as the blogger suggests.