Policy analysts should be unbiased when they initially approach a problem. An open mind is essential for the systematic compilation and interpretation of facts. But once the analytical task of the analyst is complete, he or she may be transformed by his or her conclusions and attendant circumstances from an analyst to an advocate. This is dangerous. Presently policy analysis allows the analyst to pose as a neutral nonpartisan, disinterested professional. But prescribing public policy on the basis of an analysis takes the analyst into the realm of politics. The advocate may then become a lobby and risk his or her reputation for objectivity. Just as there are best ways to undertake a policy analysis, there are also ways not to do it—paths that should not be taken. In 1976 Arnold J. Meltsner published Policy Analysts in the Bureaucracy. When he produced a revised edition in 1986 he included a new section on "The Seven Deadly Sins of Policy Analysts?' These 394 Policy Analysis distilled• " "sins are organized into the following seven categories, which Meltsner warns "are not mutually exclusive; they bleed into each other." i. Channeled advice: Here "both analyst and client ignore that circumstances have changed or that constraints exist." In consequence, "the advice is in a rut, groove, or furrow." 2. Distant advice: This is a distance grounded in ignorance. "Policy analysts all too often come up with general solutions for very specific conditions." An example is "advice cooked up in Washington [that] does not square with the reality of San Antonio." 3. Late advice: Better late than never does not apply here. "An analyst may be late to his or her wedding but must be on time when advice is wanted." 4. Superficial advice: Beware of advice that "is too quick, too off-the-cuff, and not based on enough digging into the roots of the problem." Superficial efforts "interfere with appropriate diagnosis and the hard work necessary to achieve sensible policies." 5. Topical advice: This occurs when "the demand for advice stems from some sort of crisis." This too often "leads to a kind of firehouse mentality, advice on the run. Then the analyst is likely to provide superficial and distant advice." 6. Capricious advice: This refers to change for change's sake. "We lack enough incen¬tives in policymaking to say just leave it alone." 7. Apolitical advice: This occurs when "political advice is not appropriately linked or integrated with the substantive advice of policy!' Meltsner offers this final bit of advice on his "sins." "Knowing what is wrong will not tell us what is good. But it is a start." To summarize we can put a positive perspective on Meltsner's "seven deadly, sins" by asserting that policy recommenda¬tions should be unique to the circumstances, fitted to the specific condition, on time, based on solid research, not developed in a crisis atmosphere, only offered if true change is needed, and fully in keeping with the political environment. Of course, real life seldom offers ideal circumstances for public policy analysis. ThuS policy analysts often find themselves in an inherently "sinful" occupation. Some people have a gift for administration. We have all met such natural admin-istrators. They are not only perpetually organized but have a knack for getting people to harmoniously work together. The administrative art is judgment, panache, and common sense. But the artist is useless without tools—without the technical skills (the science) that allow for the digestion and transference of information. Nothing is more pointless than to argue whether the practice of public administration is more art or science. It is inherently both. Of course, the more science you have, the better artist you'll be. But "book learnin'" won't make you an artist if you don't possess an element of the gift in the first place.

Aaron B. Wildaysky (1930-1993), one of the preeminent scholars in public administration, was well aware of the art versus science question in public adminis¬tration. After he became the founding dean of the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, he began to grapple with this same art ver¬sus science problem within the context of policy analysis. Reprinted here is "The Art of Policy Analyses" from his 1979 Speaking Truth to Power. Of course all art includes a large degree of technique or science. Thus aspiring artists in public policy and policy analysis would be wise to study the experiences of other policy artists and would-be artists. In this way both the successes and failures of the past can be instructive. These studies traditionally take the form of case studies—in-depth analyses of a single subject. It is a history that offers an understanding of dynamic, constantly moving and changing, processes over time. Most traditional news stories use the case study approach. Note that aspiring journalists are taught that a story should contain all the essential elements of a case study: "who, what, why, when, where and how." The first case studies examined battles and wars. Thucydides's History of the Pelo-ponnesian War (404 B.C.E.) (discussed in Chapter 0) is the progenitor of these mili¬tary case studies. Military colleges—and general staffs—have long used the case study method to review battles and study generalship. This same technique is now widely used in a civilian context to examine how policy proposals become law, how programs are implemented and how special interests affect policy development. College courses in public policy and administration often use a case study approach. An entire course may consist of case studies of policy development and implementation. The goal is to artificially inculcate experience. Any policy analyst rich with years of experience will have had the opportunity to live through a lifetime of "cases:' By having students study many cases, each of which may have extended over many years, the case study course compresses both time and experience. The rel¬atively young student should then have the insight and wisdom of those who have had hundreds of years of experience. In theory this makes them so wise beyond their years that employers will eagerly seek them out.

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