Not a statistician

February 18, 2004

I have to read comments in the popular blogs more often. I was just reading on Eschaton that Bush is backing off his “2.6 million new jobs in 2004” statement, excusing the original announcement by saying that number was created by number-crunchers and that Bush is not a statistician.

A commenter responds:

But what I don’t get is why, since he’s not a minister, marriage counselor, sociologist, anthropologist, or historian, we should pay any attention to his statements that the one-man, one-woman nuclear family has been the foundation of every human society, reflects God’s plan for humanity, and is the ideal arrangement for human fulfillment and child-rearing.

It seems to me that Bush’s role as President—anyone’s role as President, really—is to be a big-thinker, big-decision maker, and help guide our policy. Which means a very large part of his job is making sure people are capable of the work they are asked to perform.

If Bush is surrounded by incompetents, then who’s fault is that? And if Bush believes them, then who’s fault is that? And if it’s not Bush’s job to take care of such things, then what is his job? Oval Office warmer?

Posted in Politics