The limits of political science

Y’know, I’ve got a Ph.D. in political science, and I’ve vigorously defended the use of statistical methodologies to understand political phenomena. I truly believe that its possible to create general models of human behavior to explain political events. But one must frankly acknowledge their limitations, so let me admit the one thing political science cannot ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Y'know, I've got a Ph.D. in political science, and I've vigorously defended the use of statistical methodologies to understand political phenomena. I truly believe that its possible to create general models of human behavior to explain political events. But one must frankly acknowledge their limitations, so let me admit the one thing political science cannot and never will be able to explain -- the mind of Arianna Huffington:

Y’know, I’ve got a Ph.D. in political science, and I’ve vigorously defended the use of statistical methodologies to understand political phenomena. I truly believe that its possible to create general models of human behavior to explain political events. But one must frankly acknowledge their limitations, so let me admit the one thing political science cannot and never will be able to explain — the mind of Arianna Huffington:

With her campaign support mired in the low single digits, independent candidate Arianna Huffington announced Tuesday evening that she is pulling out of the California gubernatorial recall race and will work to defeat it. “I’m pulling out and I’m going to concentrate every ounce of time and energy for the next week fighting to defeat the recall because I realize that that’s the only way now to defeat [Republican gubernatorial candidate] Arnold Schwarzenegger,” the 53-year-old writer and media commentator said on CNN’s “Larry King Live.” “I was against the recall in principle. I’ve always believed this is not the way to run a democracy. But I also saw the opportunity provided to elect with a simple plurality an independent progressive governor.”

Gray Davis, on the other hand, perfectly fits the axiom that the first thing politicians care about is getting elected:

Asked about her possible departure during a campaign appearance Tuesday, Davis said Huffington had brought “wisdom and clarity” to the recall race. “I believe she’s made a contribution to the dialogue that has begun over these last 70 to 75 days,” he said. “If she does drop out and oppose the recall, clearly I would welcome her comments between now and the end of the campaign.”

Must… resist…. urge… to…. snark!!! [Just link to Mickey Kaus–ed. Good idea!!]

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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