Reminds Me of an Old Joke

Posted on | June 16, 2010 | 16 Comments

What do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
A good start!

When I endorsed the idea of using lawyers to plug the the BP oil well, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind:

The Washington Post reports that President Obama has named a lawyer to supervise oil drilling. “President Obama has selected Michael Bromwich, a partner in the law firm Fried Frank’s Washington D.C. and New York offices, to head the Minerals Management Service, the troubled agency that oversees offshore oil drilling, according to senior administration officials.” Bromwich has no experience in supervising oil drilling, like his predecessor Elizabeth Birnbaum, who was chosen “to head the MMS in large part because of her record of environmental and green-energy advocacy.” Ignorance of the complexities of oil drilling is no handicap.

That’s from Richard Fernandez at Pajamas Media. We should not be surprised that Obama, whose original claim to fame was being editor of Harvard Law Review, would prefer lawyers to actual experts in such key positions. It’s the flawed logic credentialism:

Law school graduates are smart;
Smart people solve problems; therefore
All problems can be solved by law school graduates.

And if you don’t have a law degree? Shut up, stupid.

Obama’s obvious prejudice in favor of his own class reminds me of Friedrich Hayek’s description of the intellectual, who “need not possess special knowledge of anything in particular, nor need he even be particularly intelligent.”

Category: Barack Obama

Comments

16 Responses to “Reminds Me of an Old Joke”

H. G. Fielding
June 16th, 2010 @ 5:38 pm

Sowell’s made the same point about the Annointeds’ preference for their kind of specialized knowledgead nauseam.
H. G. Fielding
June 16th, 2010 @ 1:38 pm

Sowell’s made the same point about the Annointeds’ preference for their kind of specialized knowledgead nauseam.
LibertarianAdvocate
June 16th, 2010 @ 6:35 pm

It’s the flawed logic credentialism:

* Law school graduates are smart;
* Smart people solve problems; therefore
* All problems can be solved by law school graduates.

—-

Perhaps BOTUS borrowed that one from a flawed LSAT test
LibertarianAdvocate
June 16th, 2010 @ 2:35 pm

It’s the flawed logic credentialism:

* Law school graduates are smart;
* Smart people solve problems; therefore
* All problems can be solved by law school graduates.

—-

Perhaps BOTUS borrowed that one from a flawed LSAT test
Jeff Weimer
June 16th, 2010 @ 6:53 pm

When all the world looks like a nail….
Jeff Weimer
June 16th, 2010 @ 2:53 pm

When all the world looks like a nail….
richard mcenroe
June 16th, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

It’s all how ya tell’em…
richard mcenroe
June 16th, 2010 @ 3:02 pm

It’s all how ya tell’em…
Roxeanne de Luca
June 16th, 2010 @ 8:32 pm

But… but… I don’t wanna be used to plug the oil leak!! [glares]

That aside, I would have some shred of respect for Obama if he were to use someone of my academic background to lead this – someone who shares my other degree. But he’s not running around hiring chemical engineers to fix this, oddly enough.
Roxeanne de Luca
June 16th, 2010 @ 4:32 pm

But… but… I don’t wanna be used to plug the oil leak!! [glares]

That aside, I would have some shred of respect for Obama if he were to use someone of my academic background to lead this – someone who shares my other degree. But he’s not running around hiring chemical engineers to fix this, oddly enough.
Joe
June 16th, 2010 @ 11:02 pm

I suppose most of you would prefer to see lawyers covered with oil instead of those poor pelicans and turtles. While stuffing all the lawyers down that well shaft might prove satisfying, I doubt it would stop the flow of oil.

However, think if Congress unleashed the power of trial attorneys to stop illegal immigration, the issue would be solved.

How you ask?

Create a private civil right of action to collect fines against employers who hire illegals. Make parties who do it get bonded and insured and allow attorney fees to prevailing parties to avoid innocent persons getting sued. Make the fines stiff, but just stiff enough to discourage illegal immigration.

No jobs for illegals, no illegals (or certainly much fewer illegals).

Think of them as privateers of old. There are prizes to be won! Think of what a wedge issue it would be to the trial attorneys and the Democratic Party!
Joe
June 16th, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

I suppose most of you would prefer to see lawyers covered with oil instead of those poor pelicans and turtles. While stuffing all the lawyers down that well shaft might prove satisfying, I doubt it would stop the flow of oil.

However, think if Congress unleashed the power of trial attorneys to stop illegal immigration, the issue would be solved.

How you ask?

Create a private civil right of action to collect fines against employers who hire illegals. Make parties who do it get bonded and insured and allow attorney fees to prevailing parties to avoid innocent persons getting sued. Make the fines stiff, but just stiff enough to discourage illegal immigration.

No jobs for illegals, no illegals (or certainly much fewer illegals).

Think of them as privateers of old. There are prizes to be won! Think of what a wedge issue it would be to the trial attorneys and the Democratic Party!
Duke
June 17th, 2010 @ 1:51 am

No oil well experience is necessary. The experts tried top kill and junk shot and failed. Now the lawyers will try crap shoot, where their speechifying from the oval office sends so much of the stuff in the direction of the gulf as to overcome the oil flowing upward and plug the hole. Yes we can!
Duke
June 16th, 2010 @ 9:51 pm

No oil well experience is necessary. The experts tried top kill and junk shot and failed. Now the lawyers will try crap shoot, where their speechifying from the oval office sends so much of the stuff in the direction of the gulf as to overcome the oil flowing upward and plug the hole. Yes we can!
Hazchic
June 17th, 2010 @ 3:52 am

I’m surrounded by engineers where I work. They tend to believe that they can do anything just because they have a PE. They should make more than any ever too. One recently told me I couldn’t expect to get a promotion and receive the same salary as a new engineer – even though I have 21 years in my field. I put him in his place and won’t ever let him forget that comment. That being said, I would rather a petroleum or civil engineer was in charge over a lawyer in the gulf. Engineers may not be good personnel managers but they can solve a problem by breaking it down and attacking it scientifically.
Hazchic
June 16th, 2010 @ 11:52 pm

I’m surrounded by engineers where I work. They tend to believe that they can do anything just because they have a PE. They should make more than any ever too. One recently told me I couldn’t expect to get a promotion and receive the same salary as a new engineer – even though I have 21 years in my field. I put him in his place and won’t ever let him forget that comment. That being said, I would rather a petroleum or civil engineer was in charge over a lawyer in the gulf. Engineers may not be good personnel managers but they can solve a problem by breaking it down and attacking it scientifically.