I must take issue with Stephen Bennett's characterization of me as a “graduate school dropout” in the June 2002 issue of PS. I have a master's degree in political science, as well as a law degree. I am glad my mother and children did not see Professor Bennett's screed against me and others who chose to take issue with the direction of a field that we love. I chose not to pursue my Ph.D. in political science in large part because the field is dominated by number crunchers who—while quite good at math and statistics—have little influence on the understanding of politics. I noted that I would rather not pursue my doctorate if it required mastering quantitative methods.

If deciding not to pursue a particular degree amounts to dropping out, then I fear we are all drop outs of something. More importantly, I wrote to praise Professor Libby's criticism of the fact that American political science is too focused, indeed dominated by, quantitative research. That criticism should be taken to heart by the members of APSA. I know few, if any, political leaders, government officials, or others involved in public affairs who take the field of political science seriously. They know that all of the calculators in the world cannot explain the essence of politics.

I love to study, debate, and write about politics. But politics has little to do about understanding chi squares and everything to do with understanding the human condition. If that makes me a Perestroikan—so be it.

P.S. I am glad Professor Bennett did not find out that I teach as an adjunct professor. Surely adjuncts—like alleged drop outs—must reside near the bottom of the quasi academic barrel.