More Adult Advice for Obamamaniacs

In my last post I mentioned the good advice for Obamamaniacs to found in David Brooks's recent column, "Questions for Dr. Retail" (New York Times, February 8, 2008).

Brooks's broader point in his column is that while Hillary is getting the uneducated, working class vote, Obama is winning the states that are more heavily populated with educated, higher income voters. This does not make him the intelligent choice. Nor does it disprove my point in "Adult Advice for Obamamaniacs" that he is appealing to adolescent emotions. The key to reconciling these two observations is that, especially among Democrats, being educated these days does not mean being able to think. It only means being able to express your emotions well. (My wife's insight.) These are the people who are voting for Barack Obama.

In the 1956 presidential campaign, a woman tried to encourage the Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, by shouting out, "Governor Stevenson, every thinking person will be voting for you!" Stevenson called back, "Madam, that's not enough. I need a majority!"* There are no more thinking people now than there were then, indeed there are fewer. And Barack Obama is not making the mistake of appealing to our minds.

*This quote appears in various forms on the internet. I could not find it on an authoritative site, and I have not had time to research it in actual books.