I get really tired of arguments from quantity, from demagogues and excuse makers. For instance, when they say “we’ve turned over thousands of documents,” ignoring the fact that they’ve been redacted beyond recognition, and ignoring the key ones that haven’t been turned over. Similar idiocy occurs when the media rate a legislator by the number of bills they’ve passed, without regard to whether the resulting laws were smart or stupid, or when diplomats are praised for the number of treaties negotiated, regardless of their benefits or potential pain. Perhaps the most amusingly idiotic example is defenders of Hillary Clinton’s record as Secretary of State who, when pressed on her accomplishments, tell us how many millions of miles she flew.

Anyway, the latest such sophistry comes from defenders of Barack Obama’s lawlessness, when they say that George Bush “signed more executive orders.” But as with the examples above, the content matters:

A president who vows to unilaterally increase the minimum wage, reform the immigration system, make sweeping regulations on climate change — in addition to effectively rewriting his own health care law — isn’t leading from behind (as he has on foreign policy). He’s leading from behind an extra-constitutional arrogance.

Yes.