★★★★★ 4
The one-stars miss the point:
Format: Hardcover
Thomas J. Farrell and I may be two of a small handful who actually have read Aristotle's Rhetoric. There are good reasons for this. Aristotle's rhetoric is useful to know historically, and gives one the aroma of scholarship, yet only in the sense of one's being well-read but not particularly useful.
Westen's point is that Democrats are starving for useful rhetorical advice. Grounding ourselves in material some 2,300 years old is just not sufficient. cglambdin also missed the whole point, but more bluntly and therefore clearly.
I would paraphrase Westen's major point as being: as long as you go around thinking "reason, good/everything else, not so good," you lose. Not only do you lose, you DESERVE TO LOSE.
Why?
In a democracy, "nobody likes a smartass." The corollary to this is: "if you don't know the difference between being smart and being a smartass, you're probably the latter." Now to an ancient aristocrat like Aristotle, the distinction wouldn't have mattered. In the United States of America, it should matter to everyone aspiring to leadership.
We common folk expect our leaders to resonate with our values and life conditions. We don't care whether your blood runs a bit blue (as with the Kennedys) as long as you can be with us in spirit when you need to be. It's only polite.
In 1992 the smartass class had great fun with Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain" comment, but missed the point that Clinton resonated while President Bush the First's glance at his watch during the same town meeting debate ended the campaign then and there.
Drew Westen evokes what I considered state of the art in the communication field when I was in graduate school twenty-five years ago. Because he's a psychologist, and also not a smartass, I didn't expect him to bring up the theoretical language of people ranging from George Herbert Mead to Kenneth Burke. Rather, he demonstrates their insights! We get it! His work also fits well in the tradition of Walter Fisher's groundbreaking
.
Two things about Westen's book take off a star. Yes, he does meander. Also, his repetitive bashing of Bob Shrum comes off, at last, as an extended hard-sell advertisement for his own political consulting business. Perfection is elusive. Nevertheless, The Political Brain is doggone useful!
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Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2007
