I am often struck by the conventional wisdom that sprouts instantly on television after, say, a Supreme Court decision on health care. Conventional thinking is like angel dust to reporters who in the immediacy of an event have to say something that by the end of the day is repeated often enough during the 24/7 news cycle that it becomes fact.
So it is with the “intensity argument” that is supposed to give the Republican campaign of Mitt Romney a much-needed boost in the arm. Trailing in every state that is supposed to be competitive in a supposedly close election, Romney, it is thought by the conventionalists, received an injection of energy sure to change the dynamics of the campaign. I am not convinced. I doubt more can be done to increase the anger-level of the virulent anti-Obama camp. In contrast and perhaps as important is the fact that three million young Americans up the age of 26 can stay on their parents’ insurance policies. Add to that perhaps as many as five million grateful, anxious parents and anyone can begin to see that the intensity argument does not flow in one direction only.