Saturday, July 19, 2008

Policy, Politics, Personality, and Good Data

I was as upset as anyone -- well actually maybe not quite -- about his FISA reversal, but this reminded me of why I like Barack Obama and why I think he'll be a terrific president.

After the FISA thing, I was trying to figure out why one still has a good feeling about Obama, despite some of his irrationally centrist positions. What do we need from a president besides good policy? The answer, I think, has to do with how he thinks and how he influences our sense of ourselves as Americans. Obama in this case is showing a preference for good data. It's a small thing, I suppose, but better data means better government and better government means more confidence in government and more confidence in government means more opportunity for implementing good initiatives.

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