As Wilkinson might put it, restoring seven-year Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System for Part 91 aircraft is not exactly a scintillating political argument. But a skilled politician can present it in a compelling way: end tax breaks for corporate jets, in this case.

I think one could also get some political mileage out of trying to abolish Ex-Im. Point out that a government agency operates much like Fannie Mae, but instead of subsidizing housing, it’s subsidizing jumbo jets at taxpayer risk. Most of the agency’s subsidies go to handful of huge corporations — and two of the biggest recipients have CEOs in Obama’s inner circle. This agency even once helped build a new factory complex in Mexico to replace work being done in Bloomington.

Seems you’ve got some good populist fodder there.

But where’s the acute benefit to the middle class? Ponnuru would ask. It’s hard to pinpoint easily: the guy who didn’t get a loan in 2012 because the bank loaned to an Ex-Im-guaranteed corporation might get the loan in 2017 after Ex-Im is gone. But that’s not the best sales pitch.