Why Does PBS Receive Taxpayer Support? 

Ridiculous interview with Drew Westin, author of the Political Brain, on the PBS website. 

Westin was interviewed for the September 12th episode of NOW, a political program, on PBS. 

While he does compare Obama's ability to respond to questions in an interview or debate to the ability of Dukakis, he also acknowledges he likes Obama... 

His assessment: Many voters vote with their hearts. He actually asserts that Democrats "hide their values in the fine print of their policies. Republicans always start with their value statements. They come out and say "This is what I believe" and then they say some words about what they're going to do about it if they ever get there and then they conclude with something that is emotionally powerful and compelling."

He goes on "Democrats almost always start the other way around."

Drew Westin and I must live in parallel universes.  The Democrats offer NOTHING but talking points and 5 second sound bites. Take for example Nancy Pelosi on the financial crisis facing the United States.  The Hill reported : 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked Tuesday whether Democrats bear some of the responsibility regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, had a one-word answer: “No.”

Westin goes on to describe how he thinks that feelings drive the brain.  This may be true for many people.  In fact, far too many people, women especially, start their reasoning process with feelings and then never get beyond those "feelings" when deciding how to think about an issue. These feelings are often rooted in a gut level reaction to a situation- like when a child throws a tantrum in the grocery store because the child wants a bag of candy. 

Some parents gladly buy the candy to solve the immediate problem- no matter that tomorrow will be filled with more tantrums- maybe even louder more demanding tantrums.  And others will bargain- offer a smaller bag of candy or even just a piece of candy.  These people also encourage tantrums.  In political terms, this would be like feeding the pig. This response to a tantrum is also rooted in emotion.  This sort of response feeds a sense of entitlement.

On the other hand some parents have a philosophy that buying the candy will encourage future tantrums.  These parents will tell the child "No" and either leave the store immediately or apologize to those around them, pay as quickly as possible and then leave without the candy. These parents don't respond on an emotional level no matter how emotional they are feeling. This is the political equivalent of voting against pork.

I would contend that many people who are actually conservative develop their feelings about an issue based on what they know about an issue.  It may even be- and this may shock some- that religious teachings influence a conservative's feelings about an issue.  

This may be at least one place where Democrats go wrong: They often seem to think that religious teachings are rooted in emotion and therefore not a valid basis for an opinion. I think that there is often an elitist perception that thinking people can simply not be religious in the way that, say, Evangelicals are religious.   

Some other points made by Westin:

While he calls Sarah Palin an excellent marksman in terms of her speech delivery, he notes that the Dems failed to peg her as an "incredibly reckless, cynical choice by John McCain."

He asserts Obama blew it- he should have gone on the attack immediately.

Westin stuns with the conclusion that the debates will be critical.  He advises Obama to start with emotion when asked about the economy: "I want to see 'Made in America' again." 

He notes the McCain campaign and the right wing has conspired to convince Americans that Obama is not like them.  News flash: He is not like most Americans. 

Most interestingly, Westin explains that conviction is important. "If you don't put out your principles and speak them with conviction, people look at you and think 'you know- these people are weak and lacking in conviction.  I don't think I'll vote for them.' "

He then explains how Obama should hoodwink people:  Obama should not start out saying he wants universal healthcare.  No that doesn't sell.  Instead, he advises Obama to tell the people that he believes in a family doctor for every family. 

Westin actually thinks that these two things are equivalent. Does he not understand that universal health care leads to a lack of access to a family doctor- just ask people in Canada how long they can wait to see a family doctor. 

Or he suggests Obama lead with "I believe people who work for a living ought to be able to take their kids to the doctor when they are sick and that is the difference between me and John MCain."

Yeah- because John McCain definitely does not think working people should be able to take their sick kids to the doctor.  UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Can anyone publish a book?!!?

He then asserts that "Democrats have really mainstream values, they just never talk about them." 

It's true- Democrats don't talk about their "values"- they just criticize Republicans for theirs. As Westin observes: "The Republican Convention was a Hatefest." 

Obviously the debates will offer each candidate the opportunity to inform voters about their positions. Of course this would require Obama to actually develop a position with which he can live- a seemingly impossible task when he has to speak to a diverse audience.

After watching Westin's interview for PBS, it is now especially clear to me why liberals want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine while continuing to fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They will both silence the conservatives and force them to pay for "experts" like Westin to shill for the DFL.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's financial request for Fiscal Year 2010 and 2011: $450 million and $483 million 

WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!