His goal has merit, so that's not the issue.
The fact is that if politicians are to be swayed in favour of anti-poverty strategies then the public must first be persuaded of their merit so that upwards pressure can be applied.
Designers so love their pet typefaces, and argue their merits so vociferously, that declaring one's type preferences can be as risky as calling oneself a Republican at a Democratic fund-raiser.
Similar amendments were introduced in 1829 and 1855, with the "most prominent" proponent being Andrew Johnson, who raised the issue in 1868 and considered the idea's merits "so palpable" that no additional explanation was necessary.
Of course, whenever you ask them why that's so great, they go on about being able to order Turkish food one night and Thai the next, so that means the merits of diversity are measured by how well they serve white people.
But do political parties, even those in government, still have the power that merits so much attention?
They must take the case as having two separate limbs, he suggested, the first being the question whether the book was obscene or not, the second being the question whether the merits so outweighed any obscenity that its publication would be for the public good.
It was hand written, so that meant it merited a response from the senator – a form letter response.
There may be merit in scrapping all intermediate stages so that departments can concentrate on their brief for the rest of the year.
It is ironic, bordering on the bizarre, that agriculture merits so little attention in the climate change agreement to be finalized at this month's UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
