my first blog ever

Be outrageous. Post something every day. That's the advice I received from a 30 something up and coming political strategist, when I mentioned the other day that I would like to start a blog.

"That's how to get noticed," he said over a piled up plate of food in a crowded, noisy Lower East Side restaurant. "Say outrageous stuff. Do it very often."

Say what?

Isn't this exactly what we DON'T need? Mouth off and don't pause for thought is another way of thinking about this guy's advice! We have far too much of that already in the blogosphere. I'm told 9 million people have blogs already. And the great majority of the 9 million could do with a little more thought and less outrage.

So here goes. One tiny drop in the ocean.

I say two cheers for ambivalence. Let's spend more time asking the right questions than blurting out ill considered one sided rants.

Take the presidential debates for example. There's another one tonight. The 20th Democratic debate of the primary season. And perhaps the last. After each debate there is endless commentary about the body language, sneers, laughter, and oh yes, the answers to the questions.

But what about the questions? For the most part they have been predictable and uninspired. The much maligned New York Times sought out some questions from several thoughtful minds. Among them, Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe, who has done excellent work on Presidential signing statements: the "right" of the President to bypass sections of bills that he has signed into law. Would Clinton or Obama end this questionable practice?

"Is That Your Final Question" at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/opinion/26tue1.html is the most thought provoking piece about the campaign that I have read in recent days.

Ask better questions, and perhaps we can bring about real change. It begins with questions first, and then answers