The Answer's As Clear As American Beer

Karl Rove is worried, my darlings. He's desperately worried about beer:

Forget the death panel stuff -- Karl Rove may have hit on a scare tactic that could really get people angry about a government takeover of health care.

In one paragraph in his latest Wall Street Journal column, Rove wonders which industries might be next to face President Obama's criticism of health insurance profits. Here's the key quote, with emphasis added:

Mr. Obama's dig at profits reveals a certain disdain for markets. Health insurers have a 3.3% profit margin, less than the 4.6% average for all businesses in the country. Drug companies do enjoy, on average, a 17% profit margin. But that's still less than software companies, which earn on average a 22% profit margin. Brewers make 18%. Are these industries the next targets for a revenue hungry Obama administration?

Rove is a complete hack, and so we cannot expect him to reference reality in his scare-mongering. But I do believe events from the recent presidential campaign should debunk this myth before it even starts.

Remember, it was John McCain who vowed to veto beer:

Obama, on the other hand, did not vow to veto beer:

The man even held a beer summit, for fuck's sake. Do you think a man who holds a beer summit would fuck with brewers' profits? No. He would not.

So, sleep tight, beer lovers and beer brewers. Barack won't veto your beer, and his rescue of the American economy will ensure that beer profits continue to flow.