18 September, 2008

It’s OK Not To Know

David Frum, a former speechwriter for George W Bush, and the man who coined the term ‘Axis of Evil’, writes:

Somebody who knew President Bush well once remarked to me. “You’ll notice he never asks questions.”

“Why not?” I said.

“Because he doesn’t know what it’s okay for him not to know.”

Frum worries that Sarah Palin is going down that same road, but really, the arrogance born from ignorance is one shared by most politicians and, dare I say it, many commentators. Bush was a disaster for primarily this reason, and the McCain-Palin ticket reeks of it.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, seems to have a more inquiring mind and a capacity for nuance—the books written by him attest to this, as do many of his interviews (such as the one I mentioned here), even if he often has to feign certainty on the campaign trail for obviously political reasons.

I could be reading him wrong, of course. I hope we get a chance to find out.

(Link via Marginal Revolution.)