Have none of these brainy, experienced foreign policy experts cited by Jonathan Tepperman ("Foxes and Hedgehogs," Oct. 16) ever wondered why there is only one unsafe country in the Western Hemisphere, and it is the one that spends more on "defense" than most of the rest of the world combined?
At the White House, he had advised a brainy president on budget policy and much else, but turning policy wisdom into law had often proved impossible.
Richard Sandall writes in from Mongolia, using Michelle Smith's email address, with a theory as to the lack of emails from the US: 'American emailers are just intimidated by your education, as the Guardian are clearly following the England policy of employing brainy types.' I'm flattered Rich, but what led you to laud my education?
Not to be outdone, Dean Clancy, a Tea Party health policy analyst, wrote that, "I fear it's not the brainy Ryan who has pulled off a coup, but rather the wily Wyden, a dyed-in-the-wool progressive who makes no secret of wanting single-payer, government-run health care".
David Miliband was deemed "too brainy", Alan Johnson had a "lack of killer instinct" and Harriet Harman was a "policy lightweight but an adept interparty operator".
An arch-progressive, John Bercow, who resigned in disgust over the previous leadership's opposition to adoption by homosexual couples, is back; there is no formal place, at least for now, for the right-wing and brainy John Redwood.Mr Howard's most intriguing choices are Oliver Letwin as shadow chancellor and David Willetts as head of policy co-ordination.
First, he and his brainy advisers, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, set up their own State Department within the Defense Department, designing a more grandiose and aggressive foreign policy that can be summarized: "We're No. 1.
Brainy youngsters have choices.
The brainy toilers at think-tanks in Washington, DC, do not earn nearly enough to be admitted to Tiger 21, but they wield immense influence over public policy.
