One Good Insight Deserves Another

Rod Dreher astutely points out that the Palin-excitement among conservatives, insofar as it may be lacking in substance, isn't any different in that regard than the wild Obama-enthusiasm expressed earlier in this marathon presidential campaign.

I am amused by the folks in the comboxes below who are tut-tutting the identity politics manifesting themselves on the Right, with people "identifying" with Sarah Palin, and therefore willing to give her their votes. Because, see, the only reason leftish people have gone ga-ga over Barack Obama is because they carefully and unemotionally examined his positions on key issues, and decided to support his candidacy.

Bosh. Obama's program was no different from Hillary Clinton's, and is pretty standard Democratic fare. Obama sailed to the top on a high tide of good feeling; tens of thousands of people found him inspiring, seeing in his style certain ideals, and the charisma necessary to bring those ideals to reality. So what? This is how politics always works. You think Yes, we can! is a program? No, it's an emotion. Obama's entire approach has been about inviting the masses to identify with him, and it's served him well. What on earth do you think Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain" business was all about?

That's right on, IMAO. Let the record show that in all my many criticisms of Rod Dreher I never said he was a bad writer, and I noted that quite the contrary was the case at least once.

Then in the comments for the same post, another astute observation is made by someone styling himself/herself as "erstwhile contra":

This is one of the most intelligent things you've ever written; I just wish you had the same insight with regard to Crunchy Conservatism. If only you understood that conservatives who got on your case for going to a farmer's market didn't really have a problem with fresh produce. Instead, they were jokingly acknowledging that liberal form (going to farmers markets, for example) so often merges into liberal substance, as is made obvious in the bedrock liberal principle of of identity politics. It is exactly the principle of identity politics that conservatives not only reject, but define themselves against. Therefore conservatives don't love Palin because she hunts moose, they love her because her hunting of moose telegraphs that she is not a liberal. The fact she bore a Down's syndrome child telegraphs the same, leaving zero room for ambiguity and doubt, despite liberals' best efforts. The Palin phenomenon is actually the triumphant return of "lack of identity politics", with the delicious irony of Palin's irrefutable womanhood making it all the more sensational.

Suffice it to say this is a fairly adequate summation of my own views on the matter.

And for what it's worth to yous locals in NE Ohio, there's is some choice-looking produce up on Detroit in Westlake on the south side of the road, a little west of Columbia. The watermelons looked especially tasty. The dude has a mega-garden.


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[cross-posted at the Alexandria blog]