Robert Park--the physicist whose weekly column I've plugged here before--had this brief commentary on Bennet in his Friday, May 9 "What's New?" column:
MATH: FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY IS MATHEMATICALLY CHALLENGED. Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan, William J. Bennett makes a lot of money from speeches about family values and moral clarity, and from best-selling books, with titles like "Childrens Book of Virtues." He needs a lot to cover gambling loses, which are put above $1M. It's not a moral issue, Bennett says. WN agrees; it's about intelligence. He favors high-stakes slots, where you're guaranteed to lose if you play long enough. Bennett played long enough. "There's a term in the trade for this kind of gambler," a casino source said, "We call them losers."
Brian
On Sat, 10 May 2003, Michael Pollak wrote:
>
> http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2003/05/09/bennett/index_np.html
>
> [BTW, speaking of mea culpas, I was completely wrong a week ago when this
> story first emerged and we debated it. My position was entirely based on
> my mistaken assumption that his main vice was high stakes *poker*, which I
> thought was perfectly easy to reconcile with his principles because it was
> a game of consummate self-control. But now that I realize the only thing
> he ever played were poker-flavored slot machines, I agree with everyone
> else. It's completely irreconcilable with everything he's ever said.]
>
> Michael