????保守派堅(jiān)信,，奧巴馬總統(tǒng)為了堅(jiān)持大政府主義,，以最快的速度給企業(yè)施加了多道“緊箍咒”。米特?羅姆尼在競(jìng)選期間曾多次借此發(fā)起攻勢(shì)，聲稱(chēng)在過(guò)去四年,，政府制定的規(guī)章數(shù)量翻了兩番,。這不符合事實(shí)：最近的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)表明，在任期的頭42個(gè)月里,，奧巴馬批準(zhǔn)的規(guī)章數(shù)略多于布什總統(tǒng)在第一個(gè)任期內(nèi)批準(zhǔn)的規(guī)章數(shù),，略少于布什總統(tǒng)在第二個(gè)任期內(nèi)批準(zhǔn)的規(guī)章數(shù)。

????但是現(xiàn)在,，保守派對(duì)奧巴馬的討伐又有了新的口實(shí),，因?yàn)閵W巴馬在步入第二個(gè)任期之際已經(jīng)明確表示，將通過(guò)監(jiān)管命令實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的施政意圖,。國(guó)會(huì)山的反對(duì)黨不能容忍,。所以在這個(gè)時(shí)候，奧巴馬的第一任監(jiān)管一把手正應(yīng)該站出來(lái)解釋政府規(guī)章制度背后的哲學(xué)依據(jù),。凱斯?桑斯坦是奧巴馬在芝加哥大學(xué)法學(xué)院（University of Chicago Law School）任教期間的朋友,，過(guò)去四年里一直擔(dān)任白宮信息與管制事務(wù)辦公室（Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs，以下簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng)OIRA）主任,。這個(gè)職位雖然職責(zé)模糊,，但權(quán)力極大，無(wú)論是制定燃油效率標(biāo)準(zhǔn),、重新設(shè)計(jì)食物金字塔這樣的小事,，還是醫(yī)療改革、華爾街改革這樣的大事,，桑斯坦都能插上一腳,。

????桑斯坦把他的辦公室當(dāng)成了試驗(yàn)田，用來(lái)試驗(yàn)他所推崇的“自由派家長(zhǎng)主義”（libertarian paternalism）——“自由派家長(zhǎng)主義”從字面上看有些自相矛盾,，但卻是通過(guò)特定的選擇架構(gòu),，引導(dǎo)人們做出對(duì)自己有利的明智之舉，而不是僅憑一時(shí)沖動(dòng)做出對(duì)自己有害的錯(cuò)誤選擇,。（比方說(shuō)一家超市要是想鼓勵(lì)消費(fèi)者養(yǎng)成健康的飲食習(xí)慣,，就可以把水果和蔬菜擺在前排顯眼的位置，把垃圾食品擺到后排的角落,。）

????桑斯坦的理論依據(jù)是行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué),。近幾年，行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)顛覆了幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)的傳統(tǒng)觀念,。傳統(tǒng)觀念認(rèn)為,，人是按照理性行事的。在不受任何約束的情況下,，人會(huì)做對(duì)自己最有利的事情,。行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)雖然已經(jīng)有強(qiáng)有力的科學(xué)依據(jù)，但要把它運(yùn)用到政策領(lǐng)域，還是會(huì)在某些方面引起爭(zhēng)議,。詆毀它的人紛紛把老大哥搬出來(lái)說(shuō)事,。格倫?貝克更是因此給桑斯坦扣上了帽子，說(shuō)他是“美國(guó)最危險(xiǎn)的人”,。

????It's an article of faith among conservatives that President Obama scratches his itch for bigger government by imposing job-killing rules on businesses as fast as his administration can dream them up. Mitt Romney invoked it frequently on the campaign trial, asserting that regulations had quadrupled over the last four years. That's not true: Onerecent tally found that through the first 42 months of his term, Obama approved slightly more rules than President George W. Bush did in his second term and slightly fewer than in his first.

????But the charge is gaining renewed currency as Obama embarks on his second term with a declared intent to accomplish by regulatory fiat what the opposition on Capitol Hill won't allow. So it's an auspicious moment for Obama's first-term regulatory czar to drop his latest attempt at explaining the philosophy behind that rulemaking. Cass Sunstein, a friend of Obama's from his University of Chicago Law School days, spent the last four years running the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). It's an obscure but exceedingly powerful perch that enabled Sunstein to put his imprint on everything from fuel efficiency standards and the redesign of the food pyramid to the rules for the landmark health care and Wall Street overhauls.

????Sunstein used his office as a laboratory for his brand of "libertarian paternalism" -- his self-described and seemingly paradoxical approach to structuring prompts for people that promote their welfare by protecting them from their more self-destructive impulses. (Think of a supermarket that encourages healthy eating by displaying fruits and vegetables in the front of the store while relegating junk food to the back.)

????Sunstein's approach is built on behavioral economics, which in recent years has upended centuries of belief that individuals are rational actors who will act in their own best interest left to their own devices. The science behind behavioral economics is largely established, but applying it in the policy realm remains controversial in some quarters. Detractors conjure Big Brother, a specter that inspired Glenn Beck to label Sunstein "the most dangerous man in America."