portfolio example page: fallacy of red herring

At the top, it labels the category of argument.

It documents the source. (Provide the same sort of documentation that would be used for a citation in a college research paper.)

It identifies the issue in the form of a question.

It evaluates its soundness. (For the fallacies, we skip the standard form reconstruction but explain how the fallacy occurs in the example.) It explicitly states whether the argument is sound or unsound.

Fallacy of Red Herring

"No, no, he's a friend of mine. He's not a moron at all -- he's a friend. I had a good time with him today." --Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, responding to reports that his chief spokesman had called President George W. Bush a moron.

Source: Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2002

Issue: Is President Bush a moron?

Evaluation: Perhaps it's true that Bush is his friend. Perhaps it's true that they had a good time together. This information has nothing to do with answering the charge that Bush is a moron. Chretien is changing the subject instead of talking about Bush's intelligence, which is the issue.

Because of the fallacy, Cretien's argument is unsound.