Drew Westen, a clinical, personality and political psychologist who teaches at Emory University, explains in his recent book, The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. "(T)he vision of mind that has captured the imagination of philosophers, cognitive scientists, economists, and political scientists since the eighteenth century -- a dispassionate mind that makes decisions by weighing the evidence and reasoning to the most valid conclusions -- bears no relation to how the mind and brain actually work," Westen writes. "When campaign strategists start from this vision of mind, their candidates typically lose."
I have written previously that the body politic does not think-feel-nor act according to exclusively rational impulses.A person who happens to be a former beauty queen runner up with strong views regarding gay marriage does not preclude one from becoming potentially President of the United States. Former alcoholics, B list actors and one term governors have become president. For that matter former wrestlers have become governors.
Whether the Republican nominee for vice-president is qualified to become president at some time in the future is speculation. Is she qualified to hold and perform the duties of vice-president is a moot point. Our democratic process enables the voters to act upon their opinions in this regard on November 5.( to a degree)
Is the vice-presidential selection unusual -perhaps. But history makes strange "bedfellows". As I listened to Alaskan governor Sarah Palin reference "fellow" woman candidates Hilary and Geraldine, visions of sugar plums danced in my head.
Regardless of your political persuasion, sexual persuasion or moral persuasion this every four year collective national soul searching has become stranger than ever. Whether fiction of fact, the American Dream continues.
Long live the Queen !
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