Transition to Governing, 7

Television experience doesn't compensate for governing inexperience

In this post:

• When commentary and governing blur

• Hegseth, Kennedy, Oz, Duffy, McMahon: Television experience

• The short-term costs to the Trump administration

• The long-term costs to the GOP and conservative governing

You can find the previous columns in this series here: Transition to Governing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

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For years now, I’ve been warning about the consequences of the growth of the Commentary Industrial Complex and the decline in the commitment to governing. It’s dangerous, I believe, when everyone wants to talk about governing but no one wants to do it.

My guess is that 50 years ago there were 50 people engaged in governing for every one person making a living by commenting on governing. Today, with the never-ending list podcasts, newsletters, magazines, talk-radio shows, cable-news programs, and on and on, there are probably 50 people making a living by commenting on governing for every one person engaged in governing.

This has all sorts of costs. For instance, fewer good people are willing to do the hard work of governing, meaning fewer people learn how to do it, meaning fewer people do it well. Likewise, commentators like to focus on hot issues not important issues, meaning commentary often ignores pressing matters while making the public think everything is a crisis.

But maybe worst of all is that we no longer understand that governing experience is important and that governing ability must be developed. People become pundits of governing even though they’ve never governed and know little about it. And people in governing roles increasingly behave as though they are in commentating roles.

If we don’t stop this trend, in the years ahead, right-of-center officials will be more adept at landing three-minute TV hits than governing.

Considering Donald Trump’s appointments to date, this phenomenon will be front and center in his administration.

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At least four major appointees are significantly under-qualified for their roles, but because Mr. Trump has seen them holding forth on television, he believes them to be right for their jobs.