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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Darren Greer<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, February 12, 2011 4:46 PM<br><b>To:</b> ExI chat list<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] Anons<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Spike wrote:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>>I would counter-propose that my vote for president would require executive experience and demonstrated success, as a corporate CEO or state governor.<</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Are you familiar with the enfant terrible of Harvard history and socio-economics, the brit Niall Ferguson?</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Have not. I will google that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'> I heard a lecture by him once, where he said all the first rate talent flows into industry and all the second rate talent scurries into politics, mostly because of earning potential</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Yes there is that, but I have reason to hope. Read on:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>You'd probably like what he has to say. I don't. But then I'm so socialist I have to go right to get left</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>…</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Darren</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Ja, I am cool with that. I am so upwing I would need to come down to go either left or right.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Be that as it may, I recognize that in the US at least, the two statist parties will be winning every election for the foreseeable, so here’s the way I view it. It is perfectly clear to me that the best executive talent goes where it can make money, which explains why we get mostly the B students going for public office. But we also recognize that the value of the book written by a former government official largely makes up for the loss of pay suffered during the years of service. People are *<b>still</b>* buying Jimmy Carter’s books. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Recently I notice it has become fashionable for anyone who was anywhere in government to record their experiences on dead trees. The higher the rank of the author, the better for sales. I notice one of the contenders for California governor was the former eBay CEO and jillionaire Meg Whitman. Clearly she could have made waaay more money doing anything else, but went into that campaign using mostly her own money. She is still young, so let’s see what happens in the next election. California governor is the logical springboard into national office.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>