That Government Governs Best That Doesn't Govern by First Reports

   It is fair to ask, in the debate over whether the federal government should give over to Utah the authority to run public lands: Is it sometimes better to be a little removed in order to make more objective decisions? As with personal affairs, can we sometimes be too close to the problem?
   Local government being better than national government is a cherished principle. But, are there, truly, just the same, ways in which the federal government does a better job?
   My thought, after thinking this morning, is perhaps there are some tendencies towards objectivity lent to by having some separation from the problem. But, it remains that the government that governs wisest, governs best, not that the government governs best that is in one location or the other. It is not whether the government is in Washington or Utah that determines good policy, but how thorough that government does its homework before making a decision.
  All humankind has a tendency to rush to judgement based on the first report to reach our ears. We hear the words of the face before our face, so to speak, instead of going out to get all the facts. That government governs best that seeks out both sides of an issue, and that seeks a thorough understanding of the facts, before rendering a decision.