Cass Sunstein book before his confirmation as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in order to receive Senate confirmation. Asked by Rudy Takala if Sunstein's views nonetheless persisted in the Obama administration, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Michael O'Rielly eluded the question, answering, "Everybody needs a nudge, right?" Sunstein co-authored "Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness" (Yale University Press, 2008) with economist Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago. "Nudge" discusses how public and private organizations can help people make better choices in their daily lives. Thaler and Sunstein argue that People often make poor choices –
Cass Sunstein counsels thinkers/academics/politicians to embrace the findings of behavioral economics as applied to law, maintaining freedom of choice while also steering people's decisions in directions that will make their lives go better. With Thaler, he coined the term "choice architect." In 2002, at the height of controversy over Bush's creation of military commissions without Congressional approval, Sunstein stepped forward to insist, "Under existing law, President George W. Bush has the legal authority to use military commissions" and that "President Bush's choice stands on firm legal ground." Sunstein scorned as "ludicrous" an argument from law professor George P. Fletcher, who believed that