Objectivity

The third Principle of Political Life is Objectivity: appointments and similar decisions should be made on the basis of merit.

At first glance, this would appear too be the purest of principles: who would argue for appointments on any basis but merit? Well, I would, sort of.

Proposition 140, the second greatest mistake the voters of California have made (after Proposition 13) did several pernicious things with regard to the Legislature:

it established term limits, thus assuring that the legislat...