tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post962008146982150589..comments2024-03-13T09:47:40.487+00:00Comments on Cockpit Conversation: Secret BallotAviatrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-58304939763566440972008-10-12T22:52:00.000+00:002008-10-12T22:52:00.000+00:00There are some decisions a statesman (used in the ...There are some decisions a statesman (used in the genderless sense) makes that are mostly judgments of morality. For example, "If a person was subject to hardship X, should they be exempt from obligation Y?" You could argue that any person of sound mind and reasonable upbringing could exercise good judgment here. Some decisions are highly technical and require a large pool of experience and applied skill, such as those related to an economy or foreign policy.<BR/><BR/>But the statesman need not individually possess this experience and skill. A good executive will have a "knee deep" familiarity with the subject matter at hand, and will rely on a staff or expert testimony for the technical detail. You have to be competent enough to know when you're being sold some garbage, you have to know how to bias your subordinates' opinions against the bigger picture, and you have to be open enough to accept opinions that differ from your preconceived notions.<BR/><BR/>Some people would argue that today's society is missing a lot of basic institutions that once prepared the average citizen to make such decisions later in life. Some would argue it's just shifted.dpiercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03397601206317363858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-86658618878319284042008-10-12T22:40:00.000+00:002008-10-12T22:40:00.000+00:00The ultimate word in Politics?<A HREF="http://www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm" REL="nofollow">The ultimate word in Politics?</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-89685183827641137312008-10-11T20:08:00.000+00:002008-10-11T20:08:00.000+00:00When trouble arises and things look bad, there is ...When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one<BR/>individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command.<BR/>Very often, that individual is crazy.<BR/><BR/>-- Dave Barry, "25 Things I Have Learned in 50 Years"Aluwingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518739658424324739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-24179382299201834712008-10-11T16:04:00.000+00:002008-10-11T16:04:00.000+00:00Love your blog. Your descriptions of your candida...Love your blog. Your descriptions of your candidates are hysterical.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-23273055672222487662008-10-11T14:18:00.000+00:002008-10-11T14:18:00.000+00:00There is one important difference in the skillset ...There is one important difference in the skillset of a politician, as compared that of a pilot, surgeon, teacher, linebacker or a plumber.<BR/><BR/>Pilots et al work in real time. You do something, something moves, rolls, pitches, greases the dirt, or crashes&burns.<BR/><BR/>Surgeons work in real time. If they say "oops" it is a Bad Thing.<BR/><BR/>Teachers, in the classroom, are in always-on mode. Especially in the high school years, if you're not mentally two steps in front of the class, you're in trouble. If you get behind them, they'll eat your lunch.<BR/><BR/>Politicians, however, work as a collective. They get into caucus, wrestle things out, merge that with the party platform that was devised a year before and is built on years of party positioning, and then come out and parrot the platform. Or heckle. Or spout well-rehearsed sound bites. Or, if you're a backbencher, work in your riding and don't f**k up, tow the party line, don't create trouble, and someday maybe you'll sit on the front row.<BR/><BR/>It takes great talent to handle the random interogatory questions from the press and the opposition. It takes great talent to not pooch your career when a camera or microphone is on you 20 hours a day.<BR/><BR/>But beyond pooching your career or damaging the fortunes of your party, there is little that anyone in politics can do single-handedly. There are a few who have excelled (Washington, Macdonald, Churchill, Thatcher, Ghandi, Mao, Franklin - and even Hitler) who have produced outstanding leadership, have been a one-person influencer who can motivate people and take them somewhere. And before anyone gets their panties in a twist, "somewhere" definately includes evil places (ref. Hitler). The list of strong leaders is short, because it takes exceptional skill.<BR/><BR/>While there is a requirement for leadership, most of the folks there are most valuable representing a diverse set of opinions, and offer their own opinions - the results of a collective 100+ brains is better than which will be produced from 3.<BR/><BR/>As for the lawyers.... politicians do not need to be lawyers. There is a huge civil service that has the knowledge of the intricacies, and a lawyer's skills can be rented. Aside for the requirement for diversity of thought, I don't attach any value to a lawyer's unique training, aside from their contribution to the collective thought. There are too many lawyers in politics, and not enough farmers or fisherman or oil riggers.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11726267862761677407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-9467349840634758802008-10-11T09:37:00.000+00:002008-10-11T09:37:00.000+00:00Aviatrix said"-It's a bit like entering the Reader...Aviatrix said"-It's a bit like entering the Readers' Digest Sweepstakes, except that I'll get a government instead of a book."<BR/><BR/> but you know the book will normally be much higher quality.;-)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11679310031767479691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-7585636566958423922008-10-11T04:24:00.000+00:002008-10-11T04:24:00.000+00:00apolitical: you make a good point, and we probably...apolitical: you make a good point, and we probably agree that an elite governing class is a bad thing (I don't think dynasties like the Roosevelts, Kennedys, Bushes, or Clintons are healthy). If you look at my original posting, though, I was talking about skills. <BR/><BR/>Take my pilot example -- being an airline pilot doesn't require you to belong to a special elite social class, but it does require you to have some basic skills to start, and then to do a lot of training and get a lot of experience. You can't just pull Jane or Joe Average off the street and put her/him straight onto the flight deck. By the time Joe Average has finished all that training, he has a different perspective than when he started, so he's no longer representative of the group he started in (listen to how pilots complain about media coverage of crashes, etc.).<BR/><BR/>I think being a politician is the same: you don't have to be rich, or a lawyer, or anything else, but you have to care enough to have spent years involved in the process, somehow, before running for public office, and that time investment will make you different from average voters, not matter where you started out -- instead of sitting at home complaining, you'll have been out trying to change the world.<BR/><BR/>Lawyers have a one advantage, because they already understand a lot of the technical details that lawmakers have to deal with day to day, but there have been many great politicians who haven't been lawyers.davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15194758376900990105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-13366702849440587472008-10-11T03:19:00.000+00:002008-10-11T03:19:00.000+00:00I don't mind the side conversations in the comment...I don't mind the side conversations in the comments at all, as long as they stay civil. This is interesting and intelligent, and yes, goes right back to Plato: how informed should you have to be to make a political decision? Is the design of laws and public policy sufficiently different from the design of bridges and the practice of medicine that it makes sense to weigh the input of everyone equally on the former, but require experts with training for the latter?Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-28017308077864015062008-10-11T02:44:00.000+00:002008-10-11T02:44:00.000+00:00@the above: I believe the original design of the U...@the above: I believe the original design of the US Congress was to incorporate both. The House was supposed to be populated by the everyday common man (farmers and the like), while Senators were theorized to be wisened scholars of some standing. It was a nice thought. Philosophers since early Greece have tried to concoct ways to take the politics out of politics.dpiercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03397601206317363858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-28241659786938110232008-10-11T02:16:00.000+00:002008-10-11T02:16:00.000+00:00david: at the risk of hijacking the blog (sorry Av...david: at the risk of hijacking the blog (sorry Aviatrix) - Then aren't you saying you believe in professional politicians? As if common sense only exists within the elite "class"? I actually prefer "government of the people, by the people, for the people." But lately I'm wondering if democracy should be listed as an endangered species.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-12215723576239064102008-10-10T22:30:00.000+00:002008-10-10T22:30:00.000+00:00apolitical: I want a representative cross-section ...apolitical: I want a representative cross-section of society in government about as much as I want it in on the flight deck of a plane, the server room of a big company, or lineup of a major league sports team. <BR/><BR/>While I don't think you have to be a lawyer to be in government, I also don't believe that someone with no experience can become an effective representative in a few weeks, any more than someone can become an effective airline pilot in a few weeks.davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15194758376900990105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-87365969232774647872008-10-10T22:15:00.000+00:002008-10-10T22:15:00.000+00:00You wrote: "...He's a lawyer, so that implies the ...You wrote: "...He's a lawyer, so that implies the ability to think, and a set of useful parliamentary skills..."<BR/><BR/>I'd suggest that we have too many un-employed lawyers and related professions represented in parliament. Perhaps if we had a representative cross-section of society we'd have better government and less "good-ole-boy" clubs who take care of themselves first and the rest of us much later?<BR/><BR/>Just a thought...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-36774442176270053982008-10-10T21:36:00.000+00:002008-10-10T21:36:00.000+00:00Actually, it's more as if the party in the U.S. wi...Actually, it's more as if the party in the U.S. with a *House* majority got to form the government, since the Canadian House of Commons corresponds to the U.S. House of Representatives.davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15194758376900990105noreply@blogger.com