You might remember a recent Duke University speech in which journalist and author Nicholas Wapshott suggested that the next American presidential election could be described as a “Keynes-Hayek election,” in which President Obama and the Republican nominee will channel the competing ideas championed by 20th-century economists John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek.

Max Borders picks up that theme in his latest Ideas Matter update.

It’s hard to argue with this assessment. And yet I don’t think the median voter fully appreciates this conflict of fundamental economic worldviews. Of course, we’ve spilled a lot of pixels on this blog about this intellectual war — and who’s right. But what about the framing? What will the spin doctors be up to?

Believe it or not, both Keynes and Hayek are becoming household names. But it’s probably not enough. For the critical swing voter — one who generally breaks to one side or the other based on the winds of fashion or something he/she heard — framing will be critical. …

The Left is likely to make the whole conversation about jobs. Come what may. (It’s already started.) Jobs for the sake of jobs. Despite the debt… Despite the failure of the last economic stimulus… we need to “put people back to work.” Whether it’s digging ditches and filling them up again, or paying teachers more for the same mediocre performance, the Left has a very good chance of convincing voters that job creation is the goal. In fact, most voters believe that. You will hear the word “jobs” a lot from Obama and the Left, despite the job-destroying policies Obama has presided over.

It’s very difficult to explain to voters that an entrepreneurial environment is the goal and that sustainable job creation follows from setting the conditions for talented productive people to make money. The goal is to create a fertile (low transaction cost) environment for entrepreneurship. But that’s hard to explain. Not easy to put into soundbites.