A Profoundly, Profoundly Stupid Lead by Floyd Norris (Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? New York Times Edition)

Floyd Norris's lead this morning would put him in the running for Stupidest Man AliveTM--if the contest were still open:

Snow Did Well on the Economy, but His Boss Did Poorly in the Polls - New York Times: By FLOYD NORRIS: IF presiding over a growing economy with low inflation was the measure of a good Treasury secretary, then John W. Snow would be leaving his position with accolades all around, and Henry M. Paulson Jr., his chosen successor, would be said to have a tough act to follow. To assess the tenure of Treasury secretaries, the economy's performance under Mr. Snow was compared with the performance under each of the previous 10 secretaries, going back to William E. Simon, who served Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford from 1974 to 1977.

The measurement ranked each tenure on the basis of annual growth in real gross domestic product and payroll employment, as well as on the performance of the dollar, the stock market and the Consumer Price Index. Low inflation rates were considered good, while rises in everything else were viewed as indicative of success. The ratings were combined on a scale of one point for a first-place finish in a category, down to 11 points for a last-place position.

Measured that way, Mr. Snow's tenure ranks second, behind that of Robert E. Rubin, the secretary for much of President Bill Clinton's time in office, and a man to whom Mr. Snow has often been critically compared. Mr. Snow did well on economic growth, inflation and the stock market. He ranked in the middle on employment growth, and lagged only in the performance of the dollar...

The Treasury Secretary doesn't control the economy. To begin an article assuming that he does is profoundly stupid.

Norris then tries to claw his way back to reality:

The reality, of course, is that neither the Treasury secretary nor his boss, the president, really bear much responsibility for short-term changes in the economy. Mr. Snow entered office after the recovery from the 2001 recession was well under way — a recovery he never failed to credit to the tax cuts. Giving him credit for the recovery, and blaming his predecessor, Paul H. O'Neill, for the recession and stock market plunge, is not fair to either man...

But he never says what the Treasury Secretary does bear responsibility for. Never. Not a word. He never says what a successful and productive Treasury Secretary does. Never. Not a word.