Highlights Of The Ideas Fest

Catching up on some of the more interesting panels and events here at the Aspen/Atlantic Ideas Fest.

Yes -- most folks here are ... well, I don't want to call them liberal, but take a gander at Jeff Goldberg's post about one of this morning's panels.

A small indication of the political leanings of some Aspen attendees: At a session with Jim Wallis, Michael Cromartie and our very own Ross Douthat, Michael Gerson pushed back against Wallis's contention that the Iraq war was immoral because it caused the loss of innocent life. Gerson noted that the previous regime in Iraq was responsible for terrible human rights violations, including genocide, and he went on to say that Saddam was "comparable to Pol Pot." This was apparently a controversial assertion, because it provoked boos and grumbling in the audience. I would note for the record that there seemed to be no Kurds in the audience.

First, here's David Brooks on Neuroscience and Politics. His book on the subject is going to be awesome.