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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 22, 2008
/ 22 Elul 5768
The Beehive buzzes for Sarah Palin
By
Rod Dreher
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
If you want to understand why Sarah Palin has made such a powerful connection with American voters, don't listen to the political professionals. Listen to the voice of the Beehive.
The Beehive is the Wasilla hair salon where Ms. Palin has had her hair done since 2002. She kept going back to the Beehive even after she became the state's governor. A New York Times profile of the salon revealed a Steel Magnolias-style place where a close-knit community of women shares their everyday trials and triumphs. Ms. Palin remained loyal to the Beehive even after she hit the big time. She's that kind of woman, and people sense that about her.It should be obvious, of course, that one shouldn't choose vice presidents based on hair care. That's not the point. Ms. Palin's relationship to the Beehive telegraphs both her authenticity and her sense of community. She's the real deal and that made a "gut values connection" with Americans.
The gut values connection that's what most people vote on, at least according to Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik, Republican politico Matthew Dowd and journalist Ron Fournier. In their 2006 book, Applebee's America, the trio write that policies and issues "are mere prisms through which voters take the true measure of a candidate: Does he share my values?"
Authenticity and community are the most important gut values contemporary voters look for, the men write. That would explain much of Barack Obama's popularity. There wasn't much difference between his policy program and Hillary Clinton's, but Mr. Obama triumphed because masses of Democratic voters believed he truly was someone different. In a year when 80 percent of the voting population thinks the country is headed in the wrong direction, that's powerful stuff.
Anybody who believes that Mr. Obama represents substantive change should compare his Democratic convention acceptance speech to those of John Kerry and Al Gore. Mr. Obama is selling Democratic boilerplate. The same conservatives who rightly mocked Mr. Obama's appeal as superficial, drive-by emotion yet are now ga-ga over the God, Guns and Lipstick candidate should ask themselves how, exactly, the McCain-Palin platform differs from the same old GOP same old.
The truth is, politics in our media-driven democracy are primarily about symbolism and personality, not a rational consideration of issues. University of Virginia psychiatrist Jonathan Haidt, in trying to explain to fellow liberals why culture matters in how people vote, said the first rule of moral psychology is this: Feelings come first and tilt the mental playing field on which reasons and arguments compete.
The second rule, which Dr. Haidt says liberals tend to discount, is that morality is in large part "about binding groups together, supporting essential institutions and living in a sanctified and noble way."
Mr. Obama's mass appeal comes primarily from his ability to strike a resonant chord along those lines within tens of millions of voters' hearts. Same with Sarah Palin. That is irrational but that doesn't make it foolish.
As Dr. Haidt avers, move the hearts of men, and their minds will follow. The ability to win the trust and loyalty of the majority is a critical component of leadership. Mr. Obama and Ms. Palin possess unusual degrees of charisma in its older definition that is, the innate personal authority that makes for an exceptional leader. Given that each candidate weds that gift to distinct value systems, it's by no means clear that their discrete personal characteristics are a distraction from "real" issues.
The personal truly is the political more often than many of us care to believe. Last week, I shared my concerns about Ms. Palin's lack of policy knowledge with a small-town pal. My friend responded dismissively: "She can learn all that. All I want to know is if she has good values and the sense to surround herself with good advisers." My friend comes down on Ms. Palin's side, but it's easy to imagine a liberal dismissing criticism of Mr. Obama's dearth of executive experience in the same way.
Ms. Palin is only a vice presidential candidate, but emotionally, this election is a Palin-Obama face-off. Both speak to the public's hunger for authenticity and community but which community, and authentically what?
I neither extol nor diminish either candidate when I say that, in terms of their competing worldviews, Sarah Palin comes from the Beehive, and Barack Obama comes from Harvard. The question most Americans will take with them into the voting booth this fall is a variation on Bill Buckley's famous aphorism: Would you rather be governed by the faculty of Harvard, or the steel magnolias of the Beehive?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Rod Dreher is assistant editorial page editor of the Dallas Morning News and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum).
PREVIOUSLY
09/08/08: Palin's a fighter and worth fighting for
09/02/08: GOP slouches toward St. Paul
07/18/08: Wall-E Pixar's surprisingly political postmodern masterpiece
06/08/08: Era of cheap airfare is over
05/29/08: What if they're not smart enough?
05/11/08: From horror, a child's loving gift
05/07/08:Will a canary be our last meal?
04/03/08: Economic crisis is of our own making
02/14/08: What child-men need is some tradition
02/05/08: A Republican victory this year could do more long-term damage to the party than a loss
01/22/08: Putting faith in Obama: Do GOPers tempted by him know what they're supporting?
11/20/07: We can't fix the world with The Care Bear Stare
10/17/07: Every father should read this book to his son
10/03/07: Not even our parks are safe … And I lay at least part of the blame on the cultural revolution and our obsession with the individual
08/22/07: The Decalogue, dangerous? Advice for a society that cringes at commandments
08/15/07: Playing the anti-science card
08/01/07: How the U.S. can avoid its own version of the fall of the Roman empire
07/24/07: Conservative author: Big business can be as dangerous a threat as big government
07/09/07: All quiet but the doleful pleas of a father who knows
06/28/07: When we let conspiracy theory masquerade as news, we fall prey to much more than deception
06/20/07: Stranded on Delta: They may love to fly, but it certainly doesn't show
06/13/07: When did conservatism start to mean never having to say you're sorry?
05/08/07: PBS darling gets abused by PC police
05/02/07: Impervious to beauty and deadened to depravity
04/20/07: What I know about being a loner
10/28/05: How the conservatives crumble
© 2007, The Dallas Morning News,
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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