Via a correspondent, David Cho of the _Washington Post_ engages in some “unlicensed political science”:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/12/AR2010041204364.html.
bq. But by suggesting the deficit may have peaked, administration officials are taking a political gamble. If the favorable number does not hold up in coming months and the budget shortfall surpasses the $1.4 trillion recorded last year, voters in the November midterm elections could punish the Democrats for offering false hope.
It is certainly true that the electorate ‘could’ punish the Democrats for offering false hope on the deficit. But it’s also possible that the electorate ‘could’ punish the Democrats for how much Tim Burton’s latest movie sucked, for increases in shark attacks, or for failing to prevent the massive invasion of green alien space monkeys that’s due to take place this summer. Actually, there is some “interesting evidence”:http://www.international.ucla.edu/cms/files/PERG.Achen.pdf on the shark attacks. The false hopes, _Alice in Wonderland_ and green space monkey effects? Not so much.