Norman J. Ornstein
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Norman J. Ornstein is a political scientist and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative-leaning Washington D.C. thinktank (though Ornstein is usually not identified as a conservative, and is considered within AEI to be a bipartisan centrist). Ornstein is married to Judith L. Harris, a prominent regulation litigation lawyer. He studies American politics and is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and many magazines. He has written a weekly column in Roll Call since 1993. His greatest political influence may have come in writing substantial portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the "McCain-Feingold" campaign finance bill passed in 2002. [1]. He is currently co-director, along with Thomas Mann, of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project.
Ornstein received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1974.
[edit] Excursions into comedy
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Ornstein has on occasion dabbled in political satire. During the U.S. presidential election, 2000, Ornstein appeared on The Daily Show on Comedy Central to deliver what has become a signature gag called "the don't knows." In it, Ornstein claims that he has done a large survey on some question of the day and gives the results, many of which are comical answers. As in real polls, a small percentage of respondents always answer "don't know" to the question. Ornstein then claims that an additional question was asked of this group to find out why they don't know. A certain percentage again answered "don't know," and so on for three or four questions, as the answers get odder and odder. In the end, the show's host asks Ornstein "What does all this mean?" and Ornstein replies "I don't know."
Since the establishment of Air America Radio, Ornstein has performed the bit with a wide variety of questions on The Al Franken Show. He also appeared on the March 7, 2006; April 24, 2006 and January 10, 2008 episodes of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
A fictional version of Ornstein appears as a main character in the satirical novel Why Not Me?.
[edit] Advisory Boards
Ornstein is a member of the Advisory Board of the Future of American Democracy Foundation[2], a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation in partnership with Yale University Press and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies[3], "dedicated to research and education aimed at renewing and sustaining the historic vision of American democracy". He also serves on the Advisory Board [4] of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School. Ornstein is also a member of the Board of Directors of the nonpartisan election reform group Why Tuesday?.
