Lessig’s Decision Not to Run
Posted by cmdln on February 25th, 2008
Professor Lessig has just posted another video announcing his decision not to run in the special election for the vacancy left by the passing of Congressman Lantos. I am disappointed but understand his reasoning. My own support was for whatever decision he ultimately felt was the right one. It is not like the decision not to run affects his commitment to working on the problem of political corruption.
Given Lessig’s criticism of pollsters in Code 2.0, I am curious however about which one he utilized to help make his assessment and the details of the work. Not that it matters and I am not entirely surprised given the huge investment of time and self that even a special election would involve. I also had some concerns about how if successful his duties as a congressman would divert him from the newly launched Change Congress movement.
On the upside, he has promised more information in the coming weeks on that same movement. If you go to that site you can sign up to receive a direct announcement as details become available.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I wrote a rather cynical blurb on his running not too long ago. I believe he can do far more as a lobbyist organizer and motivator than he will ever be able to do as a likely unsuccessful politician. I like what he stands for, but that little show he did was a great example of what happens when your ego carries you away from reality.
BTW thanks for the excellent podcast, I’ve been listening about 2 and a half years. The audio quality has always been great and the content is always interesting.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I don’t necessarily disagree though I am more skeptical than cynical. I would be curious to see how he would have fared as a neophyte politician. I tend to agree he would be less effective than as an academic and thought leader. I am more open to the possibility he would have surprised us and recognize that as critical as his own skill and experience is the staff he would build.
And thanks, I am glad your are enjoying the program. Thanks for enduring the less than stellar quality of some of my recent live recordings. I am by no means an audio engineer and have learned what little I have over the past few years through trial and error.