[Benman]

Congratulations!! You've just been elected "President Z." And true to your campaign pledge, your first act in office is to lower taxes to $50 and lower spending to $50.

You're feeling pretty good about yourself. After all, you've cut the size of government in half, lowered taxes, and the economy is humming along nicely. So far so good.

But, towards the end of your first term you draw an opponent in the upcoming primary, Candidate C. Candidate C's platform is as follows:

"President Z isn't so great. Sure, he was better than Presidents X and Y, but he didn't go nearly far enough. If I'm elected, I'll lower taxes and spending to $25 per year. So, President Z, when you really look at him closely, is nothing but a no-good LIBERAL."

Once you've recovered from the shock of being called a liberal, you begin to craft your response to that allegation. Whic of the following will it be:

1) He's right. I am a liberal. The current status quo is $50/$50, and there's no other way to characterize me relative to someone that wants to cut that in half than as a LIBERAL. Maybe the Democrats need a candidate. I'll call them up. Or;

2) He's wrong, I'm not a LIBERAL. When I proposed a $50 spending and tax rate, I carefully considered precisely how small the government could be and still provide the minimum of services even the most conservative of conservatives would insist on: national defense, a minimum of infrastructure, and a decent court system to protect private property rights. Had I thought that even $1 less a year was feasible, then that's what I would have proposed. No sir, I'm as conservative as you can possibly be and still be responsible. Everyone to the "right" of me is just wacko.

Which choice best describes your response?