The Problem With Judging the Speaker, Not the Statement

We are all subject to a common fallacy: Out of ignorance or sloth, we prefer to judge the speaker rather than the statement; that way we don't have to educate ourselves about the economic impact of a balanced budget amendment, or the effect of trade agreements on the growth of the economy, or the complexities of a nonproliferation agreement. Instead, we form a general assessment of the person making the claim and by this means evaluate the truth of that claim....