I rely unreasonably on friends, family, and colleagues as a sounding board for ideas and for sources. Henry Reath and Tony Kiser were always available to offer encouragement and judgment. Henry Miller at Goodman Media was a trusted adviser and astute reader.
Professor Richard Arum introduced me to the importance of school culture. E. Donald Elliott, lawyer and scholar, was an indispensable resource on the workings of Washington. Bob Litan at the Kauffman Foundation is authoritative, and always available to steer me in the right direction. Dr. Troyen Brennan was a source for issues related to health care; Michelle Mello and David Studdert at The Harvard School of Public Health were rigorous partners in developing ideas for health care justice. Jonathan Rauch at Brookings was generous with his time and ideas. Law professors Ed Dauer, Mary Ann Glendon, Bob Kagan, George Priest, and Peter Schuck were helpful as sounding boards. Steen Lassen and Finn Christenson in Denmark, and Claire Fox and Sir Charles MacLean in the UK, provided useful sources and insights on the workings of law and regulation in other countries. Chris Borreca and Janet Horton at Thompson & Horton in Houston helped me understand how special ed laws work in practice. Deborah Brown and Rebecca Urbach walked me through the intricacies of law applied to hospitals. Joe Tanner in Georgia and David Maloney in Florida were wise about the workings of state government. Scores of teachers, doctors, judges, public officials, and others consented to lengthy interviews—thank you all.
My colleagues at Common Good leaned over backwards to help me find sources and materials—Paul Barringer, Sara Berg, Janet Corcoran, Vince Evener, Dina Hasiotis, Ali Kliegman, Andy Park, Mark Schultz, and Franklin Stone. So did Common Good’s trustees—Kim Fennebresque, Eric Holder, Marc Lipschultz, Michael Shepherd, Scott Smith, and Missie Rennie Taylor. Members of Common Good’s advisory board were always available to open doors and put their reputations behind the need for an overhaul of legal structure—Howard Baker, Griffin Bell, Bill Bradley, Bill Brody, Chris DeMuth, Newt Gingrich, Heather Higgins, Harry Kamen, Charlie Kolb, Larry Mone, Dr. Herbert Pardes, Tom Kean, Diane Ravitch, Dr. Jack Rowe, John Silber, Alan Simpson, Larry Thompson, and Deborah Wadsworth made themselves and their rolodexes available whenever needed. Supporters of Common Good provided more than trust and resources—Julian Robertson and Bill Goodell, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Nancy Barrand, and others at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, stand out as entrepreneurs of philanthropy. My friends hold on to their wallets when they see me coming, but they’re a soft touch and have made possible the projects described in this book.
My colleagues at Covington & Burling offered their expertise and judgment about the workings of Washington—particularly Rod DeArment and Marty Gold. Covington has an extraordinary history and culture of public service, and I thank all my colleagues for accommodating my passion here.
Research help was indispensable, and five recent Yale graduates formed a kind of tag team to help me find, and check, ideas and sources. Jonas Oransky became a scholar of political philosophy, devoting almost three years to the issues described in this book. Brad Lipton has unique analytical skills and was insightful as a reader of early drafts. Morgan Babst brought her writer’s eye and sharp intelligence to the final year of work. Aryeh Cohen-Wade helped at the end when others were unavailable. Alan Rosinus started it all off in 2003. Other research help was provided by Gina Merrill, who researched the paper for the 2005 Lawsuits and Liberty conference at the National Constitution Center, and by Paul Devlin, who helped with certain historical material.
Simon Head and my daughter Charlotte Howard read early sketches and kicked around ideas. Kent Barwick, Philippa Dunne, Ron Faucheux, Ken Godat, Jonathan Slonim, Simon Brandler, and Nolan Reichl were close readers. Richard Boulware helped me negotiate the shoals of political sensitivity. Richard Nash Gould made sure I was aware of the arguments for political insensitivity. My brothers John Allen and Bobby Howard acted as a clipping service from the South. Bob Dilenschneider, Michael Donovan, Shelley Wanger, Paul Soulellis, Mary Reath, and many others advised on the title.
My agent Andrew Wylie continues to be an indispensable resource, not only placing and promoting the book but also putting his reputation on the line for these ideas. My editor, Starling Lawrence at W. W. Norton, has a gift for spotting holes and weak points, and helped make the final product measurably better. The rest of the team at W. W. Norton has been smart and thankfully unbureaucratic—I particularly thank Louise Brockett, Elizabeth Riley, and Nydia Parries.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., regularly volunteered ideas and sources for my work, and encouraged me even when he (and I) did not know where it might lead. I miss him.
Finally, my family has been a source of strength and support throughout. My children Olivia, Charlotte, Lily, and Alexander, and son-in-law Ernie Sabine, were an involuntary focus group—I value the judgment of each of them. Alexandra let me be, and shouldered loads that should have been mine. Thank you.