In 1988, disgruntled former White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan revealed that since the 1981 attempt on President Ronald Reagan’s life, Nancy Reagan had consulted a San Francisco astrologer for advice on scheduling the president. This went well beyond merely affecting the start times of meetings. As anyone who has worked for or covered a White House knows, where the president goes, who he meets with, and when, are ultimately matters of policy. The revelation understandably caused a firestorm. How could anyone possibly base policy on something so frivolous?
It is admittedly unfair to compare astrology to the estimates of the intelligence community and think tank experts—but since they share an important trait, let’s do it anyway. Case in point: The ever changing guesses about when Iran will field a nuclear weapon or a missile capable of delivering it to America.
