In Praise of Competence

By LEE H. HAMILTON

Not long ago, I was in a meeting to talk about a public policy issue. It was a little complex, and as we considered the various angles I began to think about what it would take to translate talk into change on the ground. I wasn’t analyzing the politics of it – I was focused on the types of people who’d have to roll up their sleeves.

What I came away with was a list of skills, none of them unusual, but all of them vital to getting things done in the increasingly complicated world that government faces. Here’s some of what it takes:

• You need a legislative draftsman, someone...