In Thursday's Republican debate, Tim Russert issued one of his inane Russertian gotchas, catching John McCain in a contradiction over whether or not he's ever said he's ignorant on matters economic.

Over at the Globe's Political Intelligence blog, James Smith supplies prosecutor Russert with the evidence.

Guys, the economic fortunes of the country under a President McCain will be little affected by his contradictory statement about his knowledge of economics. What will matter is whether he actually is ignorant. Or whether the policies he enumerates — like lower taxes equals more revenue — are contradicted by good sense or actual data.

Of course, catching McCain on the real goods would require actual analysis and hard work.