Web Browsing- Professors' Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not - NYTimes.com 3 November 2008Do liberal faculty affect the political leanings of students? These people say no. But let's look a little deeper. One author says "it is really hard to change the mind of anyone over 15." Does this mean that the average American thinks about politics now the same way he did when he was 15? Yikes. It appears to imply that political opinions are not firmly rooted in ideas, but in feelings and prejudices. The article also suggests that the real problem is that students aren't actually being educated. They aren't getting the "good stuff." In fact, this may be the root of the problem. Even if students don't buy the liberalism of their teachers, they don't get much else either. Notable deficiencies appear in political and military history, especially of the West, but also include traditional literary criticism (and probably content), civics, and economics.
- Obama, Shaman by Michael Knox Beran, City Journal Summer 2008 3 November 2008Beran brilliant combines culture, religion, and literature into a powerful commentary on the religious aspects of Barack Obama's candidacy. The article is rich (and lengthy), but certainly worth digesting.
- Obama and the Politics of Crowds - WSJ.com 30 October 2008Fouad Ajami offers a rich and culturally insightful glimpse into Senator Obama's magic. He draws upon broad themes and key historical features of American cultural history to make his case for caution. Perhaps most telling is his observation about an American distinctive. Whereas the rest of the world champions equality, American has championed liberty. Obama offers the former, and the current financial panic has suspended Americans' faith in the latter. Consequently, we are on the verge of electing someone who inspires in the way a relgious leader, a messiah, does. But the religious hype quickly fades and people realize too late that they have been fleeced.
- America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree - Chronicle.com 24 October 2008Chronicle of Higher Ed points out the pointlessness of most bachelor's degrees.
- Professors' Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not - NYTimes.com 3 November 2008
Sep
4
They don’t get it: More musing on Sarah Palin
Filed Under Ideas, News, Random Thoughts | Leave a Comment
The media was doubting whether Sarah Palin would actually appeal to women. They failed to realize how effectively she could appeal to mothers. In the typical modern feminist mindset, women are not mothers, at least not primarily. But Mrs. Palin demonstrated last night that she can be a mother and a vice president — that in fact it would be good for American mothers if she becomes VP.
Sarah Palin with family (TimesOnline UK)
I think there were at least a half dozen specific references to “motherly” issues in her speech last night. But they didn’t seem forced or invented the way you’d expect from someone like Hillary Clinton or even Cindy McCain. Her comment about special needs children probably won the Republican ticket a few hundred thousand votes on its own. But to reinforce her comments about motherhood, her family played their parts perfectly. Her youngest daughter is delightfully cute, but did you see how she followed her mom around on stage after the speech? And that her mom actually paid attention to her? I don’t think people should worry about her ability to be a mother and a VP.
Daniel Henniger of the Wall Street Journal had a great piece today that addresses some of these issues. Mrs. Palin is far more convincing as an American mom than nearly any other woman in politics.
An MSNBC show this morning also included some talk about her appeal to mothers. Generally, the “oracles of political wisdom” thought she’d appeal very strongly to moms. Of course, if they had said otherwise, they’ve have lost what shreds of credibility they still have.
Populism
It’s nearly axiomatic in American politics that in order to get elected, you have to play the “average Joe” card frequently. Read more
Sep
3
Republican Convention Wednesday
Filed Under Ideas, Random Thoughts | Leave a Comment
I discovered tonight that I can watch the Republican National Convention live from their website without the hassle of commercials and insipid commentary. How nice.
Of course, not very many speakers tonight were nice–at least not when they were talking about Obama. Actually, is it unkind to tell the truth about someone’s public record when they are aspiring to the highest political office in the land? Maybe they were being nice by not mentioning houses in the Chicago suburbs and brothers in Africa.
I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s media commentary. I thought the media reaction to Tuesday night was intriguing.
Huckabee impressed me. His speech was very thoughtful.
Guiliani actually squeezed some relevant policy discussion around his sarcastic pot shots at the Democratic ticket.
Palin’s speech. Very nice. More subdued than I thought it would be, but that was probably a good thing. She moved nicely from the revivalist preacher mode into a serious explanation of her own record (read: accomplishments), then into a fairly coherent discussion of policy1. Of course, she generously peppered her comments with sniper shots at the Democratic ticket–the comment about being a mayor vs a community organizer was great. When Obama picked Biden, the word was that the latter would be the “attack dog” for the Democratic ticket. I would caution him against underestimating his Republican counterpart.
Some bloggers have already claimed that her speech was like a high school speech. Great. That’s what we need: a clear, concise, direct statement. Skip the “nuanced” approach. Try communicating. Amazingly, there are a lot of high schoolers out there who are far better speakers that most political types. And they write their own speeches. And they deliver them without teleprompters. So it sounded like a high school speech. Great. That means it sounded genuine.
A genuine person in high political office. What are the odds?
- Discussing difficult things like public policy never plays well on TV, and, as much as we hate it, candidates have to play to the TV. Palin did a nice job. back↩