I'm listening to George Pataki's State of the State address, live from the Assembly Chamber. Guess what he's talking about? Jobs, healthcare, seniors, schools. Seniors, jobs, schools, healthcare. Healthcare, schools, jobs, seniors. Schools, seniors, healthcare, jobs. This is all Bill Clinton's fault. Everything is completely poll-tested, and there's not a politician in the landscape that ever varies from this script. (Well, if Pataki were a Democrat, he'd mention 'gun violence.') I'm old enough to remember when what politicians strove for was some hot, new, big idea as the basis for getting elected, an idea that reflected their core values, but at the same time challenged received wisdom.

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