Andrew Gelman dreams of the day when a journalist (like Ezra Klein) asks “Why?” the items on a list (like Rob Goodspeed’s) are in alphabetical order.

This drew my attention to the items on Barack Obama’s issues page, which as of today are not in alphabetical order (despite first appearance and various journalists’ reports that they are).

“Why?” is always a good question. So is “Why not?” If “Why not?” is the right question, something interesting might explain why [not]. Translation from another language, for example. A friend name Winternitz was listed as the first author of many joint papers, even after the citations were translated from Russian to English.

Why aren’t the items on Barack Obama’s issues page in alphabetical order? I don’t have an answer, but I wonder: Was the “Seniors & Social Security” issue once the “Social Security” issue?