Misconstrued on account of rain

Prussia’s Frederick the Great once said, “A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.” So are newspapers these days. Teasing out the proverbial dark lining in any passing cloud, the Washington Post asserted that Obama had failed to sell the public or congressional Democrats on the tax deal. According to a recent a poll, “17% percent of people said it would hurt, while 43% said it would make no difference,” wrote Post reporter Perry Bacon this morning. (Never mind that of those polled, a majority still supported it.) This afternoon, the $858 billion tax-cut deal easily passed the Senate by a whopping 81-19 vote. It seems the sky is not falling after all. It is true, as Longfellow said, “Into each life a little rain must fall.” But the Post seems to have forgotten that there’s a difference between reasoned analysis and weather forecasting.