==> On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 13:49:56 -0800 (PST), rone at ennui.org (rone) said: > Steve Brust writes: >> "Bush was elected primarily by the backing of such industries as oil and >> major finance, which begs the question of who is served by the war in >> Iraq." > You're asking the poor phrase to do too much work. "begs the question" has > a meaning; let's not overload it. "raises the question" or "leads to the > question" is correct, [...] "Demands the question" could work, I might even go so near as "pleads for the question", to evoke the image the author probably desired, of 'just begging that any observer ask this obvious question'. - Allen S. Rout