And the inevitable happens when these dufouses get elected. They can't figure out how to get anything done. Just like the president in Idiocracy, he's a popular guy with a winning look but he doesn't know his ass from
a hole in the ground.

I wholly agree with this.

I heard on NPR about this book: "The Political Brain: the Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation." by Drew Westen.

The author's point that one party seems to exploit emotional rhetoric to get their views across and the other uses logic and facts to get their views across rings so true. Guess which is which? Has anyone read All the Kings Men based on Huey Long?

He suggests that in order for the (liberal) Democrats to start winning the hearts and minds of the debate that they need to use visceral rhetoric along with logic.

Tell those personal stories, personally attack the people and policies of the opposing party - YES, they are the ones who screwed up this economy, Yes, they are the ones that made selfish short term decisions that we all suffer for, Yes they ARE the minority and they lost the election... !!!!

Obama, although I admire his diplomacy, needs to really tell the truth about how we got to where we are AND blame the deregulation policy on the REPUBLICANS. Blame them for your lack of finances due to denying you BASIC healthcare that everyone else in the world enjoys. Blame them for the depression and unemployment. It just needs to be said - when they were in control, we lost the America we all loved!

Palin, et al. are stupid and they don't care about policy - they want to be rabidly popular and famous but don't want to take accountability for their words or actions. No intellect/logic needed just gut reactions.

both of whom, Douthat argues, have made the same mistake with regards to their futures

It seems obvious to me that Palin has no interest in high office. The first clue is her complete lack of interest in the details of governing (which is completely separate from her ability to understand the issues). The second is that she doesn't even like political office when she has it. That's why she quit the Governorship.

Palin isn't making any mistakes, regarding her future, because she isn't seriously planning to run for president. She's claiming her fame and her fortune. There's nothing more to it.

Oddly, most politicos seem to be oblivious to the evidence.

This is so rich coming from a supporter of Obama, whose entire presidency, up to the present day, is the living embodiment of "celebrity style over substance".

And you guys say that it is conservatives who project their shortcommings onto liberals. LOL

"He suggests that in order for the (liberal) Democrats to start winning the hearts and minds of the debate that they need to use visceral rhetoric along with logic."

Representative Grayson.

Shorter Chicounsel:

"I've been living in an isolation booth for ten months."

@Chicounsel:
Obviously you haven't been paying much attention. Check out the WH web page or the recent post on KOS listing at least 50 accomplishments by President Obama. After watching Geo. W tapdance on the steps of the WH, I'd say substance was no where apparent in the previous administration & not much style at that.

The GOP base thinks that Colbert is really on their side.

"It's possible to be a celebrity and a serious politician at the same time: Barack Obama's career proves as much."

Hel-LO? Who ya wanna hang with? A guy who makes your brain hurt?

Or a guy who is a laugh a minute, fries squirrels in a popcorn maker and play rock guitar?

Or a gal who can field dress a moose, pagent walk, and is hot HOT HOT!

Like, DUH. . . .

I'm not impressed with Gov. Palin as a national candidate, but I think it is a mistake to lump Gov. Huckabee in with her. He is smart and did a good job as a two term governor of the same state that another inexperienced candidate for president came from.

Granted, he is pandering to his audience, but so have a lot of other presidential wannabes until they have to actually run for the office. At that time you usually see a spin towards the center (with the exception of Senator Goldwater, but he may did keep to his principles which have mostly stood the test of time - before you jump all over this statement, look up some of his quotes on gays in the military and religion and politics.)

I suspect that if Mike Huckabee became the nominee he would fight a very good but losing battle in 2012.

Sarah Palin not so much.

Excuse me, but who actually finds Sarah Palin HOT? She may have some physical characteristics that some may find appealing, but as soon as she opens her mouth or one gets a view of her history, any attractiveness goes out the window. I am old enough to have met and known some very physically attractive people who lost their claim to that perception as soon as I interacted with them. Maturity is a wonderful thing and I am so glad that I have reached this age to enjoy it.

Palin has an impressive record of achievement in Alaska. Her successful takedown of corrupt pols alone endears her to millions of independents who are independent because they detest the sleaze in the two parties. She is wildly underestimated by all the "smart" people. This gives her an advantage over her legion of enemies. Obama is a blown fuse, he's history. Palin is just now gearing up. Our next president. Can't wait, the country needs her asap.

What I see is something even more frightening than what Douthat talks about. I think it's clear that Palin *has* been hitting the books. She's just been discarding anything that disagrees with her worldview.

She'll never be competant, but she might someday be acceptable enough to the right-wing wonks to gain their support. They're going to have to support someone. Might as well hold their nose and support a celebrity who's making an effort.

"the living embodiment of "celebrity style over substance""
Ok, that's a bit harsh, but it's true that the president hasn't delivered the change he promised, yet. And the caption on the Obama posters wasn't "a bit of change". There's substance, alright, but it isn't that much different from Bill Clinton's accomplishments. And that's not what people expected.

"Palin has an impressive record of achievement in Alaska."
That's meant ironically, or what? Brouhahahaha!

"She'll never be competant, but she might someday be acceptable enough to the right-wing wonks to gain their support."
Like president Dan Quayle.

Well, wait a minute - Sarah Palin is a leading intellect, per the Washington Post (albeit op-ed contest):

http://views.washingtonpost.com/pundits/contestants/kevin.huffman/2009/11/kevin_huffman_final_column.html

Douthat makes a convenient launch pad for these thoughts because as usual he is wrong, but of course he is an idiot who is never right about anything.

Let's keep that in mind.

I was trying to think of counterexamples and came up with Newt Gingrich. I know, I know. He's a fifth-rate intellect, but he passed for an intellectual among the GOP base. They didn't hold it against him and it scored him points with those parts of the right that claim to take ideas seriously. Palin could probably rise to the level of pickle-head if she tried and it would spread her appeal to the pompous pea-brains of the right.

"Palin has an impressive record of achievement in Alaska. Her successful takedown of corrupt pols alone endears her to millions of independents who are independent because they detest the sleaze in the two parties. She is wildly underestimated by all the "smart" people. This gives her an advantage over her legion of enemies. Obama is a blown fuse, he's history. Palin is just now gearing up. Our next president. Can't wait, the country needs her asap."

Is that why she quit? Most American just plain don't like her. As soon as the going would get tough, she would quit for no discernible reason.

"I was trying to think of counterexamples and came up with Newt Gingrich. I know, I know. He's a fifth-rate intellect, but he passed for an intellectual among the GOP base. They didn't hold it against him and it scored him points with those parts of the right that claim to take ideas seriously."

What are you talking about? The GOP base hates Gingrich. Only the DC media takes him seriously.

As long as the subject is conservative columnists writing about Palin, why not cite Steve Chapman writing recently in the Chicago Tribune. After praising Goldwater and Reagan for being capable of thought, Chapman says, "Palin? Her new memoir, "Going Rogue," fills up 413 pages, but it has less policy heft than a student council speech." And he goes on to say, "Who needs policy? In her world--and the world of legions of conservatives who revere her--the persona is the policy."

The good news is that since the tea partiers have no interest in the details of policy, they will never pose an electoral threat on their own, and will only be effective as part of a coalition with the moderate conservatives they despise.

The bad news is if their frustration continues to build past a certain point, they will one day abandon electoral politics altogether and resort to violence. The tea party movement contains the seeds of our own Hamas or Hezbollah, although a more apt comparison might be to the Irish Republican Party.

Pathetic and illogical

"The Democratic base tends to find this kind of dumbing down of politics insulting."

No, I tend to find inarticulate, poorly framed claims like this "insulting" (as in, "to my intelligence," such as it is).
The reichwing signature anti-intellectualism -- both in and of itself, and in its real-world effects, as manifested in anti-science, anti-economic, anti-diplomatic, anti-historic, anti-reality policies and acts (not to mention anti-decency, and anti-human as well) -- I find "horrifying," "frightening," "threatening," "dangerous," "counterproductive," and "doomed."
Also "mind-boggling."

Sarah and Mike are actually putting Country first by standing up for the Quest as the most important action she can do. Will she run for President? Who knows. The goal in hand now is 2010, to get the right minded Statesman in office to change the policies of the Wonks to a policy of Constitutional conduct, bettering Government from serving the elite to serving the people. It is that simple.

Teaparty patriots are interested in our Nation taking A big step back to the Founder's value of what the Federal Gov. and what the Sovereignty of States is suppose to be. Read the Constitution to understand that please.

Gov. Huckabee is well seasoned in Governing and his stand for the FairTax shows the true value of standing up for Main St., not Wall St.

since reagan republicans/conservatives have courted, counted on, and promoted the ignorant American voter paradigm. This is their base. They've made violent ignorance a virtue.

Elsie said: "Palin, et al. are stupid" No they aren't. Confusing their approach to campaigning with their intelligence is the same mistake that Democrats made when dealing with Ronald Reagan.
For all the coverage of Palin during the presidential campaign, I never heard anyone from Alaska, or anyone in the lower 48 analyzing her administration up there, say she governed neglectfully or "stupidly". In fact, for an Alaskan Republican, she was rather moderate. (Of course, the media really couldn't be bothered with serious reportage of podunk Alaska)

If Palin chooses to forgo in depth learning of global and national issues, well, that's her choice and it would cost her the election if she runs. But Palin is not stupid and the people who despise her do themselves political harm if they proceed as if she were.

And this comes from a Hillary supporter who voted for Obama.

Palin is stupid and so was Reagan. I don't know if Huckabee is stupid. Reagan was less insane than Palin or Huckabee. Reagan was a terrible president who showed good judgment a few times. I doubt Palin or Huckabee would have been smart enough to reverse the tax cuts or talk to the Soviets. But that's a low bar.

I still have no idea what Palin would actually do to address this country's problems if by some freak of nature she actually became president--and neither does she.
Every time I hear her speak, it's just a bunch of nonsensical sentences filled with teabagger buzzwords that mean nothing except to serve as dogwhistles for all her mindless followers who need to be kept in a constant state of excitement and anger at the "others" who aren't "real Americans". You know, the "fake" Americans, most of whom live in urban areas and don't view science, technology, thought, reason, and education as tools of the devil or witchcraft.

As we saw last year, there is only a very vocal and ignorant minority who will accept a "dumbing down" to such depths as Palin would take us.
Sorry to those who argue she's some sort of secret genius and I ignore her at my own peril, but there is simply no way that a majority of Americans(real and unreal) will ever elect her president. It would be a situation similar to the dog catching the car.
She wouldn't have a clue what to do, she only knows how to blame and smear others for her own many shortcomings. She's popular like American Idol constestants are popular, more like rubbernecking at a car accident, not because anyone wants to see her with any real power.

No Mark, I don't think any Repub today would be able to reverse a budget busting tax cut, they're kept in strict ideological restraints at this point. Look at how former "moderates" like Pawlenty are forced to behave. Any sense of shame apparently disqualifies you as well.
Even George W. Bush and the Repubs who controlled congress for most of his term didn't care about tax cuts for the wealthy, new medicare benefits or a war of choice that were funded by massive deficit spending with a huge run up of the national debt.

They only care about debt and deficits after a Democrat becomes president and tries to prevent a depression and reform a healthcare system which is destroying our economy and causing bankruptcy and death.

the problem with this attempted analysis is it ignores the fact obama is as big a dumbass as you'll find in the united states. went to a church led by a racist and anti-semite, lied about his granmother to try to justify sticking by his pastor initially, clearly knows nothing about the economy or would not have pushed through a stiumulus that hasn't helped push down unemployment but has ballooned deficits, is lying while pushing through a health care plan that would be devastating for americans, and it goes on and on.

thanks for acting as the perfect example of the typical moronic Palin supporter mike! Completely ignorant, disconnected from reality, projecting, and devoid of self-awareness.
Neither Obama nor Palin are the biggest dumbass in the U.S.--not as long as you're walking the earth.
stick with your teabagging parties--you're not qualified for anything else.