In his column today, Michael Gerson tells us that at a recent meeting of conservative activists, Bobby Jindal didn’t talk much about personal history or social hot button issues:
Instead, he uncorked a fluent, substantive rush of policy proposals and achievements, covering workforce development, biodiesel refineries, quality assurance centers, digital media, Medicare parts C and D, and state waivers to the CMS (whatever that is).
Italics mine. Brad DeLong snarks, “At the very least, a columnist for the Post should hide his ignorance rather than be proud of it.”
But what Gerson is actually doing here is using the time honored rhetorical trope of feigned ignorance to suggest to his audience that Jindal must be some kind of rocket scientist. This is something that I used to do occasionally too, but it’s really not possible anymore and Gerson should know that. Why? Because the web makes research too easy. If you Google “CMS” the very first hit is Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It takes five seconds. Outside of things like live panels, it’s a very 20th century affectation to showily pretend not
to know this kind of stuff anymore.
