Yes I am dead serious. The doctor analogy is a good exercise.
Firstly, heart surgeons are an exception. I was more talking about your GP, physiotherapist, or perhaps the best example, psychologist. Good luck trying to get credible information on their competencies and character! If you have a solution I'd like to know.
Secondly, as you have pointed out, when info is available, it is more likely to be about professional competence than personal values. Which means if you have to rely on how "moral" a doctor is, you are SOL.
As damn hard as this task is in choosing your personal physician, it gets damn near impossible to apply it to politicians. For a heart surgeon you may ascertain his patients' survival rate. What is the parallel for a politician? Whatever you choose, it will not be as objective. But at least it will be more clear than how "honest" he is.
And who are you going to ask as character references? His own party or the opposition?
Now when I want to choose a doctor, one of the first things I check is which hospital is he affiliated with. It is a lot easier to recognize a well run hospital than a judge the honesty of the doctor. I can easily find out about the post-op complications or infection rates in a hospital or how many high profile or tough operations they have performed. If I am in a great hospital, even if my doctor is of average competence (rather unlikely) there is still a support mechanism around to improve my odds...after the hospital, I check the good doctor's credentials...I have no way of judging how "honest" he is, nor does it particularly matter so long as a good system of checks and balances (in the form of the hospital) keeps an eye on him. |
