Commentary: Stow The Rhetoric

Growth is off the charts, jobs are in the pits -- and economic anxiety is shooting straight up the income scale. In a close and bitter election campaign, that ought to be the formula for a great economic debate. Indeed, the two political parties are facing off squarely: Republican President George W. Bush staunchly defends his Ownership Society vision of tax-cut-fueled growth eventually stoking the job machine, while Democratic nominee-in-waiting John F. Kerry maintains that the way to fire up employment is to reclaim and redirect those tax revenues.

But instead of debating smart policies, both parties are backsliding into hot-button rhetoric. Kerry, a lifelong free-trader, threatens to veer into protectionism and border-closing, rolling back Bill Clinton's historic gains in moving Democrats toward open markets. And Bush has been reduced to singing the praises of a small fiberglass outfit that's set to hire two -- count 'em, two -- new employees, because he has little to offer stymied job seekers besides tax cuts on income that they won't earn.