No matter whom you blame for the sequester, it's hard not to admire the artful analogy put forward today by Ann Arbor native (and lawyer) Gene Sperling, and director of the National Economic Council, in defense of his boss's role in the sequester. It employs the wise tip many of us were taught in our trial practice classes about effective persuasion -- tell a story. Sperling, who has been at the center of a spat with Bob Woodward over the history of the sequester, offered this on Meet the Press this morning:
A mugger comes up to you and says, "Give me your wallet." You say, "I don't have my wallet, but here's my watch." Well, technically giving your watch was your idea, but it doesn't really tell the whole story.
Scrupulously, Sperling gave credit to the originator of the analogy, New York magazine's Jonathan Chait, a Michigan native and Wolverine.
