Owned vs. Owed

What a difference a letter makes. In Slate today, Daniel Gross gives the best rhetorical-question-followed-by-biting-response answer to El Presidente's acceptance speech that I've seen yet:

How does the rise in debt jeopardize President Bush's plans for expanding ownership? Unlike the loan Bush took when he was on the board of Harken Energy, these debts have to be paid back.

Is it too much to ask whether, indeed, such subtleties might be lost on the man?