Robert Herritt on What the Government Can Learn from the iPhone

During the 2008 election, the Obama campaign touted a vision for a more user-friendly federal bureaucracy they called "iPod government." It was one of the many pieces of rhetoric that was unceremoniously discarded once the votes were counted.

But whether they knew it or not, writes Robert Herritt, Obama's team were onto something. And with today's unveiling of Apple's latest slate of products—including the iPhone 5—it's worth considering what the policymakers in Washington could learn from the gadget mavens in Cupertino. For starters, individual choice should trump central planning every time.