Unfortunately, the masses are sometimes ill-equipped to make decisions based on nothing more than emotional response.

Yeah, the old saying that Democracy is the theory that the People know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.

Here's a better take on it. Transcribed from Will Durst's album (referring to the tax rebate check we got a year ago):

Don't get me wrong, man. That 300 bucks last August... That rebate check came in handy. I live here in town, I paid off two parking tickets with it.

But we had this windfall, we could have done anything with it. We could have paid for every hot lunch program in America through the year 2054. We could have put a downpayment on prescription drugs, which they talked about last November and now we haven't heard Word One of. We could have done a lot.

"Oh no, no, you can't do that. Uh-uh. No." "Why?" "Well, the American people want tax cuts."

Duh. The American people also want drive through nickel beer night.

The American people want to lose weight by eating ice cream. The American people would chew off their own foot if Oprah told them there was liquid gold in their ankle veins. The American people love the Home Shopping Network because it's commercial-free.

So yeah, the idea that sometimes the government has to do unpopular things (within reason) is not a problem with me.