Tips for think-tank pundits: ten ways to drive your panel wild.By Asia Policy Point In times dominated dom·i·nate v. dom·i·nat·ed, dom·i·nat·ing, dom·i·nates v.tr. 1. To control, govern, or rule by superior authority or power: by momentous mo·men·tous adj. Of utmost importance; of outstanding significance or consequence: a momentous occasion; a momentous decision. questions of war and foreign policy, a particular kind of Washingtonian is bound to thrive: the think-tank think-tank Noun Informal a group of experts employed to study specific problems think-tank think n → Expertengremium nt pundit An expert or knowledgeable person. From "pandit" in Hindi. See guru. . But competition is relentless. Good judgment and extensive research may help advance a career, but what really matters in Washington Washington, town, England Washington, town (1991 pop. 48,856), Sunderland metropolitan district, NE England. Washington was designated one of the new towns in 1964 to alleviate overpopulation in the Tyneside-Wearside area. is an elusive quality Elusive Quality (born 1993) is a thoroughbred racehorse who holds the world record for one mile on turf, 1 minute 31.6 seconds, set in the 1998 Poker Handicap. Elusive Quality, owned by Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stands at stud at Gainsborough Farm in Versailles, known as "Say-so Superiority," or SOS SOS, code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as … — — — … (three dots, three dashes, three dots). . Staffers at Asia Policy Point, a Washington foreign policy research center, devised the following highly scientific measure to calculate a speaker's SOS score (and to keep themselves awake during luncheon talks).
Points
Sentence used in speech given
Mention of previous government employment or appointment:
"As we used to say in the Oval Office ..." 10
"While it wasn't the hardest peace negotiation I've
ever led ..." 9
"After boarding the Secretary's plane to Serbia ..." 7
"One reason my lanyard policy decisively improved
embassy morale ..." 0
Mention of recent trip to a war zone or country not
recognized by the U.S.:
Sadr City 10
Fallujah 8
Tora Bora 7
The Green Zone Burger King 3
Darfur 1
Mention of recreational activity with senior U.S. official:
"When I was jogging recently with ..."
Condi 9
John Negroponte 8
Bob Gates 8
W. 4
The Vice President 0
Mention of recreational activity with foreign official
or leader:
"When I was skiing recently with ..."
Prince Bandar 9
Tony Blair 7
Angela Merkel 6
Hugo Chavez 2
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 0
Mention of relationship with former U.S. president or
cabinet official:
"When I was playing bridge recently with ..."
Bill Clinton 10
Colin Powell 9
Brent Scowcroft 8
Henry Kissinger 6
Jimmy Carter 0.5
John Bolton 0
Ability to offer advice to announced or potential
presidential candidate:
"When I was sharing my thoughts on switchgrass
recently with ..."
Barack 9
Hillary 9
Newt 6
Senator McCain 3
Tom Vilsack 1
Mention of exclusive, invitation-only forum (add extra
point if a featured participant):
Camp David 8
Davos
Aspen 5
Friendster 0
Mention of conversation with "ordinary" citizen of country
within area of expertise:
Sunni insurgent 10
Contented Indian call-center employee 5
Idealistic Iranian student 3
Garrulous Nigerian taxi driver 1
Room service 0
Excuse for being five minutes late for speaking engagement:
Meeting with Ayatollah Sistani ran late 10
Meeting with Dick Cheney ran late 6
Meeting with Norm Mineta ran late 1
Felt barfy 0
Preparation/poise:
Jotting down speaking notes while being introduced 10
Complimenting co-panelist 8
Proposing "a new Marshall plan" 6
Wearing a brown suit 2
Screaming "Allahu akbar" 0
APP is a Washington, D.C., nonprofit research center studying the U.S.
policy relationship with Japan and Northeast Asia. A working version
of this game, called "Inside the Green Zone," can be found at
http://www.jiaponline.org.
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion