The Political Brain

It is a truth universally acknowledged that so far 2008:The Endless Campaign has been a bumper-pack of R&B videos, thinly disguised racial slurs and sopranos-related japery. There is no earthly reason why the world SHOULDN'T already have settled on the couch, chips n dips at the ready, to watch it unfold. But the Monocle is going on holiday, and before we go, like Jerry Springer, we'd like to take the tone deep down to Meaningful. Take a look at this article: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/bookshelf/story/0,,2143929,00.html

When George W. Bush was elected, Europe's furrowed its brow. When he was RE-elected, our collective mind boggled. The answer, rather simply, is this: he got the story right. For us here at the Monocle, political campaigns are fun for a very specific reason: they're about storytelling. Who are candidates? What story have they chosen to tell about themselves? Which stories do the American people want to hear? How do candidates control their own stories, and how do their opponents spin webs of interpretation around them? Bill Clinton was a genius at it. The Monocle sat next to an elderly American couple the other day, and after the customary apologies for the State of their Nation, they got to talking about the Democratic candidates. What about John Edwards? the Monocle asked. "Ach, he feels like a loser," the couple said.

Drew Westen's new book, "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation" is a comprehensive study of how Americans vote with their feelings. Well, sure and the Brits do as well, but America needs a hero. A home-grown hero. America needs a leader who knows how to tell the country that they were born to do the job. This year, Barack Obama is right on the money. This is how his wife tells his story:

Now there are some awesome Spouses in this race, not least the Little Man From Hope, Arkansas himself, but hey, how freaking great is Michelle Obama? We'd totes vote for her.

Westen's basic premise is this: People barely use their brains at all when they're voting. It's an interesting book. We're taking it with us to READ BY THE POOL. There's only one tiny flaw in his argument: Hillary Clinton is still the front runner for the nomination. What's HER story? The only thing she's really spinning is that she knows how to do the job. Well, that's kind of a story. The only person who knows how to play the game; the only guy who can wield the power properly. Yeah.