Everything Is Political: "As I've said, this is only one example of a broad pattern. Still, why does politicized analysis matter? One answer is that it undermines democracy: how can Congress or the public make informed votes if both are fed distorted information?

And even if you aren't bothered by an administration that systematically misleads the public, you ought to be worried about the decisions of an administration that systematically misleads itself. A leader who is told only what he wants to hear is all too likely to make bad decisions about the economy, the environment and beyond."

This column details how the Bush admin has systematically edited their own Treasury department analysis to present tax cuts in the best light. Krugman is obviously liberal, but this issue of "salting the mine" by editing the policy analysis before decisions are made, is exactly what we have seen in the war in Iraq, environmental policy and energy decisions. As the Atlantic Monthly reported, this same pattern was exactly followed with regards to death penalty clemency appeals under Governer Bush. Streak suggests, like Krugman, that if you limit the information, the decisions will also be seriously limited.