Letters to the Editor
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mass political appeal
It is a human drive to continuously compare ourselves to others and to interpret the results in terms of our own competence, integrity, worth and especially status. Low ratings of our own worth and status lead to feelings of anxiety and fear, states that we like to avoid. The less secure one is, the more discomforting the discrepancies resulting from comparisons with others.
A public figure like Al Gore, who evidences the rare qualities of courage, intelligence, honesty and integrity, elicits vulnerability and discomfort in others, including for obvious reasons members of the MSM. That’s why, as Karen M. noted, he has to be taken down, lowered in status, and as Mr. Conason noted, disingenuously.
It’s also why a figure like a Bush or a Reagan can be so wildly popular – in spite of, or actually precisely because of obvious deficits in character, intelligence, and competence. It is difficult to imagine many individuals who could not compare their own level of integrity and competence as congruent with or favorably to these public figures, and that’s very comforting. Voting for one of these figures in effect normalizes, and reduces anxiety stemming from, personal deficits.
We need to give up the quaint view that politics is about politics or ideas, as opposed to psychological needs.
And thanks, Joe, for holding Ms. Dowd accountable. Someone needed to.