Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker got up last week at a bar in Chelsea to welcome guests at a fundraiser of a group that supports electing presidents by popular vote. The host, Krist Novoselic (veteran of Nirvana), had been inducted the day before into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So Mr. Hertzberg was caught off guard when he discovered the microphone wasn’t working. He plunged ahead. “We’ll just have to shout,” he exclaimed.