Probably not how Hoot-Smalley sold wine

Looks like Michele Bachmann got her esoteric knowledge of tariff law from that renowned institution known as Google University. How do we know this? Because as silly as it is, the "Hoot-Smalley" mistake is not original with her. It first appears in a glowing review by Mark Whittington of Amity Shlaes’ conservative hackwork tome The Forgotten Man: "The Hoot Smalley Act, designed to raise tariffs to protect American industries, caused a trade war with European countries that lengthened and deepened what was a severe recession into the Great Depression."

Now, Shlaes herself apparently didn’t make that mistake, as an Amazon search of her book’s text would seem to indicate. So how did Whittington come up with it? Was it a simple Spoonerism, like George W. Bush’s infamous "terriers and bariffs"? Or was Whittington, perhaps, thinking of something else — such as the contents of his wine cellar? It turns out that there is such a thing as a "Hoot-Smalley" outside of his and Bachmann’s fevered imaginations — but it’s a winery, not a piece of legislation:

Turley Napa Valley White Zinfandel Hoot-Smalley Vnyd (17.8%) ’97: Pale salmon color; fragrant/ perfumed/aromatic/dusty old vines/complex/bergamots/RioGrande tadpoles/toasted Serbian oak/raspberry/cranberry/simple nose; dry (3.7% r.s.) fragrant/floral/bergamots/smokey/ toasty/oaked/complex/raspberry/dusty young vines flavor; very long/perfumed/complex/ charred oak/short finish w/ lush/sexy tanins; clearly needs some 17 yrs of age to reach the apogee characteristic of mature/well-aged WhiteZin. Good QPR at $73.19 …

Sounds yummy, but it’s a bit out of my price range.