Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
> Gar:
>
>> Carrol - I think you are overlooking the demand here. We are dealing
>> with a government doing the wrong thing against terrorist who have
>> killed a lot of people in the U.S. and successfully terrorized them.
>> We are opposed to the evil things this government is doing in
>> response. We need to be able to answer the question: "what would you
>> do if you were in charge?". People simply will not consider anyone a
>> serious critic who refuses to answer this question.
>
>
> The subjunctive gives you away. The question is not serious as it is
> contrary to facts.
This assumes that a hypotheical question can never be serious. But when you are seeking political change, and implicitly political power, then the question: "what happens if you win?" is a serious question. It is only not serious if your political activism is nothing but moral posturing. If there is no chance of your ever winning, then the the question is truly purely hypotheical, and not worthing talking about.