I was pretty hard on Jim back on Monday, so I wanted to add that I don’t really blame him; he’s just doing the best with the situation he’s found himself in and responding to the incentives he’s been offered.  He doesn’t know what would happen if we went back to a constitutional system, where responsibility starts at the local level and the federal government does as little as possible instead of everything we deem important.  Maybe he personally would take it in the shorts.  It’s hard to blame him for wanting to keep the system that’s making him comfortable. Read more »