If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Governor Of California?

During the 2021 Newsom recall, Scott argues that any minor celebrity (B-list actor, second-tier CEO, successful blogger) could have signed up as a Democratic replacement candidate and grabbed the ~10% shot at the governorship that instead went to YouTube-landlord Kevin Paffrath, because the establishment Democrats told all real candidates to stay off the ballot. Frames it around opportunity-spotting (a whole state of long-shot bettors missed the biggest bet) and non-diminishing marginal utility of power (the SBF/Barbara-Fried point): if you don't have declining marginal utility for power, a 10% shot is fantastic.

Quality 62 · Strong. Strong (low): a clever, well-turned observation about un-noticed opportunities and the marginal utility of power, but topical to a single 2021 election and ultimately a light what-if.

Claude’s paradigm shift 45 · Moderate. Moderate (low): the 'opportunities waiting to be noticed / no diminishing marginal utility of power' angle is a nice reframe, but slight and ephemeral.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. Minor/within-discourse: a topical political what-if with no material footprint.