EVERY 10 YEARS, the population
So much depends on how many we are and where we live: representation in the House, for example, and how federal-aid funds are doled out. Then there are ancillary uses for the census. State governments use it to determine the makeup of their legislatures (see above) and the recipients of state aid. Sociologists, political scientists, even journalists study trends reflected in the report. The stakes are high enough that, predictably, as soon as the numbers are released, political operatives can be found bent over drawing tables, pencils in hand, constructing weirdly shaped districts to benefit their own parties.
President Obama has now had a taste of census gamesmanship. Attempting a pass to the right, he launched the secretary of commerce post (home turf to the Bureau of the Census) to GOP Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. The Democratic defense scrambled to intercept, and the White House tried a midair re-direct, saying the census director would report straight to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.--i.e., to Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. That sent an angry Mr. Gregg storming from the field--and play has been stalled since.
Here's an idea: Let neutral parties carry the ball. Would Democrats have liked it had a GOP president named Karl Rove captain of the census?
A university professor, a statistician, even a bureaucrat would be a better overseer of the census than someone who lives and breathes political strategy. Fairness demands it. The public should require it. Mr. Obama should see to it.