Ezra Klein joins Jason Zengerle in defending Barack Obama against the silly plagiarism charge leveled by Hilllary Clinton, and in the process reveals some confusion about what ghostwriters actually do:

“Moreover, as Jason Zengerle reminds us, Clinton has written two books, both with ghostwriters, one in which she didn’t even credit the ghostwrite in the acknowledgments, which seems like a rather worse sin than Obama grabbing a line from his buddy.

I’ve done more than a little ghostwriting in my career as a professional writer, and I can tell you that’s a complete non-issue, and in no way a “sin.” Ghostwriters exist because many people, perhaps most people, can think better than they can write. The whole point of hiring a ghostwriter is to have a professional put your thoughts into readable prose. He or she is not in it for the credit, but for the money. Yes, it’s nice if you get a mention, but it is not something a professional expects.

And anyway, haven’t we had enough of the “yeah, but the other guy did something worse” style of political argument?

You’re right. Silly question.