If we had a Wanker of the Day like Duncan Black, it might just have to be Republican Todd Akin (MO-2). In commenting on why Barack Obama failed to convince him to vote for the stimulus package, Akin replied, “I don’t believe in the myth that all the spending programs that FDR implemented in the Great Depression pulled us out of the Great Depression. I believe that they made the Depression.”

Um, FDR came into office years after the onset of the Depression. How could he have made the Depression? And GDP and employment rates rose after the implementation of New Deal policies, while bank failures declined. Private investment also rose after the implementation of the New Deal.

It’s times like these that you just want to pat Akin on the head and say, “That’s nice. Now run along and play with your friends while the grownups worry about that.”