Politicians are Not Philosophers

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This seems obvious to me, but maybe that's because I grew up in Chicago under the first Mayor Daley. But Daley jokes aside, does anyone really believe that politicians attain high office based on their political philosophies, in this country? Politicians get ahead by making deals with rich and powerful people. Just listen to the pundits tell us that it will take 50-100 million dollars to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Does anyone think that political philosophies get you 50-100 million dollars? That's just not serious. The immediate reason for my anger is that an otherwise excellent NYT piece on government contracting under the Bush administration felt the need to tell readers that the massive increase in the use of private contractors under President Bush is due to " a philosophy that encourages outsourcing almost everything government does." Okay, the reporters think that President Bush is motivated by his political philosophy. My alternative explanation is that the people who make a fortune on these government contracts are disproportionately political allies and contributors to President Bush and other prominent Republicans. I don't have the time to muster the evidence to backup my case, but they present no evidence whatsoever to back up their contention. (What would count as evidence for them, an assertion from a politician about his philosophy?) Anyhow, it is very difficult to see how this speculation about President Bush's political philosophy adds anything to this article.

--Dean Baker

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