No, not that kind of intelligent design. I mean the intelligence with which the Obama administration approaches problem solving, as well as carrying out its various missions, like protecting the environment, planning for health care, and (hopefully) fixing the financial system.
It is so refreshing to have evidence-based thinking rather than ideology determining decisions.
The latest, and what prompts this posting, is the announcement from Obama's "drug czar," Gil Kerlikowske, that the Obama administration intends to approach drugs as a problem of public health and not just as a problem for the criminal justice system; i.e., more emphasis on treatment and less on incarceration.
Kerlikowske also plans to stop talking about "the war on drugs," as though the problem is something external to "us" instead of a problem that involves our own people. "We are not at war with people in this country," he said.
This will likely arouse protests that Obama is "soft" on drugs. That would be a mistake. Anyone who wants to argue that what we've been doing has helped, please start with explaining why we have by far the largest percentage of our citizens locked up in jail on drug charges -- and still the drug problem continues unabated.
It's time to try something different. It's time to use our intelligence and not our prejudices and fears.
Ralph
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