On the Seam

At a book event for The Hawk and the Dove, the dual biography of George Kennan and Paul Nitze, held Feb. 1 at the School for Advanced International Studies founded by Nitze, Eliot Cohen, Director of Strategic Studies at the school, commented that both Kennan and Nitze tried to live "on the seam between thought and action." Neither succeeded completely. This living on the seam strikes me as the definition of Washington policy wonks who mainly think but would like to affect the world. Perhaps the ideal is to experience the two sequentially - a time for thought and a time for action. But does the competitive environment of professional life now allow the time for thought?