The narrative repeated by officialdom got established before the facts were in, and went on to play a causal role in the subsequent history.

While he is talking about early versions of the “cash for clunkers” programs, I love how casually this enormous line gets dropped into Crawford’s book. And it’s followed very closely by another subtle-but-massively-true statement:

When the factual picture is messy in this way, but on the other hand, there is a public consensus that something must be done , there develops a great thirst for answers. Speaking simplistically offers a kind of cognitive relief. This is what politicians specialize in.

It’s worth noting that this satisfaction-in-simplicity is something we can all very easily “specialize in.”