Lovely Ideas from Pretty People

It’s not as if humans are only allowed to be smart or physically striking.  We can separate the portion of that sentence from “smart” forward, steer it into Conjunction Junction, and swap out the “or” for an “and” without fear of creating incongruity, as there’s no reason why people can’t be both.  For proof, inform your spouse or beau that you adore him or her despite the fact he or she is only one of the two, and you may as well ask to sleep in the garage for the next three months.

Still, society often collectively tries to portray all lovely individuals are inherently empty shells while assuming that practical geniuses can only  be particularly unpleasant gargoyles.  But there are more exceptions to the rule than there are to global warming theory. Not to ever doubt your mom’s wisdom, but her theory that you can’t judge books by covers is somewhat uncorroborated: appealing people can’t help it if they’re bright, too.

The notion that a nice casing reflects the contents applies not only to physical facades: more importantly, charm and an impeccable delivery are useful characteristics for sharp thinkers.  Such positive personality qualities shouldn’t be seen as drawbacks as long as the individual is using them to advance the cause of good and not merely to extricate oneself from trouble.  As for me, my winning smile and pale blue eyes have long kept me in good graces and out of prison, I keep telling myself.

For a more universal example, take someone who every American finds either wonderfully or frustratingly enthralling.  Sarah Palin is admired because of her philosophy, not merely because she naturally connects with those who own rattlesnake flags that note an aversion to being tread upon.  The infectious magnetism she exudes while espousing her conservative agenda is of secondary importance to the plan itself.  I can confide in unaware female readers that many gentlemen find her comely.  But, to bring up book packaging again, the ideas she shares for 432 pages are more important than the nice photo adorning the front.

Charisma is only a secondary part of the package.  That’s seen in fellow rising star Marco Rubio, who innately draws audiences before keeping them captivated with his archconservative message. He doesn’t trade in reassuring yet bland platitudes, as he’s promoting more than himself.  Notably, conservatives can get excited just by reading a concise description of one of his speeches; he’s good even without his delivery.

Conversely, a likeable salesman is limited if the product being sold is a boom box manufactured in North Korea or a Chrysler car.  For one, Mike Huckabee is pleasant enough that conservatives are willing to hear him out.  But an alluring personality only goes so far, specifically in his case until he spells out his principles. As for a more perfect example, there’s Barack Obama.  Listen to anything he’s ever said at any time for examples.

But the media disagrees when it comes to Palin: they only see a pretty lady whom they think seduces modern knuckle-draggers into supporting domestic drilling and tax cuts.  Journalists primarily pay attention to her because they think of her as a source of easy quotes they can use to emphasize how polarizing she is (h/t Teri Christoph).  Ripping into a political figure after devoting countless newspaper inches and broadcast hours to cheap caricatures of her shows why the only profession less trustworthy than politics is covering politics.

Professional chatterers often cite her present high disapproval rate without adding the disclaimer that they’re partly responsible.  They’re reporting a self-fulfilling prophecy: by portraying her as a dim victim of her own inexperience, her positive percentages are bound to dip a bit.  They perversely enjoy seeing Palin connect with people who patronize Target and waffle houses, as they can pretend that she’s adored by Red State rabble despite her naïve ideas.  In reality, people love what she says even more than how she says it.

The media should know better than to point fingers while looking down upon others.  The same people who patronizingly refer to her and Tea Partiers as anti-intellectual are the ones who could only get into communications school.  Take me: I majored in journalism during my university days, and I’m barely able to spell “Mensa.”  On a related note, I wouldn’t trust most fellow j-school slackers to water houseplants, much less lecture the public on why Palin is so dim.  They think they’re smarter than people such as Thomas Sowell, which is akin to taking on the Marines while armed with a slingshot.  Former Marine Sowell isn’t a wise target on any level.

Palin and Rubio both demonstrate how personal captivation can enhance a case for solid beliefs.  The inverse is true, too: big personalities with little ideas get nowhere.  Take the man who’s terminated California’s credit rating.  Arnold Schwarzenegger epitomizes the futileness experienced by many conservatives who hoped that an outsized celebrity would be able to impose a promising agenda through force of will. His lone achievement has been making every single California resident despise him.

The prototypical RINO’s unstoppable desire to tax a lot and spend even more wholly negated his outsized influence.  Worse, the Kindergarten Cop/Junior Oscar winner’s new tactic of insulting voters who have noticed how rotten his record is won’t help his legacy.  The most famous bodybuilder ever and one of the biggest cinematic draws in history failed at his third career because his only platform was being him.

Of course, the media will always focus upon Governor Predator Killer’s party affiliation, not his utterly leftward philosophical one.  On a related note, they’ll continue to portray Palin as the latest in a string of diabolical conservative imbeciles.  They want to frame her as they did George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Barry Goldwater.  Diabolical GOP scientists are growing the next generation’s liberal archenemy in a tube located within a torch-lit bunker laboratory deep below the Reagan Library.  It has just the nicest gift shop.

By doing so, journalists disregard inopportune facts about their favorite right-wing bogeymen, namely how some of them notoriously strayed across the center line.  The CNNs and New York Timeses will conveniently ignore that alleged conservative superhero Nixon was reaching out to China when he wasn’t fixing wages and prices.

Meanwhile, leftist commentators often utter “Bush did it, too” while referring to any of Obama’s forays into unwieldy government, as if thick-browed Republicans aren’t allow to consider Bush’s checkered legacy on an issue-by-issue basis. Still, the media haughtily thinks they’re demonizing conservative ideas and conservatives themselves when they assail any famous Republican.

But the mainstream press doesn’t monopolize coverage anymore thanks to our fancy computers and Fox News Channels.  Accordingly, Palin has both the time and place to shore up her credentials and establish her beliefs.  Meanwhile, her supporters know that her amiability and her symmetrical face both mean nothing without her causes.  Chiefly, Tea Partiers are attracted to her guiding belief that favoring a miniscule government doesn’t equal American weakness.

As for Rubio, winning a Washington job comes first.  But he’s so far demonstrating that conservatism is a congregation of strong ideas, not a cult of personality.  Rubio differs from our similarly enchanting president in that people like Florida’s next senator the more they learn about him.

By contrast, our contempt for Obama isn’t personal, especially considering how many foes at least sometimes kind of think he’s personally okay.   It’s just that he’s all leftist.  But at least he has a second career lined up for when he’s forced to secure private-sector work after people decide they prefer a leader who pairs style with wise ideas. Namely, he can co-star in buddy cop movies with aforementioned empty shell Schwarzenegger.

The mismatched yet similarly-motivated pair can both deploy their personalities in a setting where they won’t be able to harm the economy despite employing bad ideas or none at all.  In fact, the co-stars will for once actually help create profits, even if it’s just for a movie studio.  So, who gets top billing?

Anthony Bialy is a freelance writer and “Red Eye” Conservative in Western New York.  He blogs at http://thebuffalobean.com and tweets at http://twitter.com/AnthonyBialy.

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