As he always does, Kenton Ngo writes an articulate and thoughtful diary, this time on why he supports Brian Moran for governor. Kenton's core argument is that policy differences among the three Democratic candidates for the nomination - Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran - are small, and that "At the end of the day, it comes down to what my heart says."Kenton got me thinking, why have I supported the candidates I've supported over the years? Has it primarily been based on what my "heart" says, or has it been a combination of factors? The more I think about it, the more I conclude that my decisions on who to support for political office have been based on three important aspects of what makes us all human:
1. "Head": Also known as intellect or "logos,", this revolves around the candidate's "appeal based on logic or reason." Do I agree with the candidate on the issues? Are we ideologically in tune? Do I believe the candidate has the best chance of winning the general election?
2. "Heart": Also known as "pathos," this comes down to the candidate's "appeal based on emotion." Is there something about the candidate that gets me emotionally excited, fired-up, hopeful, optimistic about the future? Do I simply LIKE the candidate? Do I simply DISLIKE the candidate's opponent(s)?
3. "Gut": Somewhat, but not exactly, related to "ethos," or "the character of the speaker." Maybe the best way to define "gut" is "intuition" or "instinct," a sixth sense that just "gives you a feeling" about a candidate (or whatever).
Anyway, when I'm looking at a candidate to support, the ideal I hope to find is someone who appeals to all three of these - head, heart and gut. I've had several of these in my life, including Wes Clark, Jim Webb, Tom Perriello, and Barack Obama. Some candidates (e.g., Hillary Clinton) have appealed mainly to my head but not really to my heart. Others (e.g., John Edwards) have appealed to my heart but not particularly to my gut. In other words, it's pretty much been all over the place for me. And sure, I can support a candidate who only appeals to one of the head/heart/gut triumverate. But I find myself far more enthusiastic when the candidate reaches me at two or even three levels, not just one.
Getting back to Kenton's overwhelmingly "heart"-based argument for Brian Moran, I have no fundamental problem with it, I would just add in "head" and "gut" to the mix and see where that leads. Of course, the mix is going to be weighted differently for everyone. For instance, Kenton appears to be going almost 100% with "heart" in this particular contest, while others probably are going 100% with "head" or "gut." For me, it's about 33% each, which is probably why I kept going back and forth between Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama during 2007 and into early 2008. Finally, my "gut" feelings about Obama were reinforced by an increased level of "head" and "heart" comfort level, and I decided to support him "wholeheartedly" (pun intended).
Regarding the 2009 Democratic primary for governor, I can definitely see how each of the three candidates has appeal based on "heart," "head" and "gut." Personally, I like all of them (but don't agree with them equally on the issues or believe that each has an equal chance of winning the general election) and will support any of them 100% after June 9. As far as the presumptive Republican nominee, Bob McDonnell, is concerned, it's a "no brainer" (so to speak) for me: my "head," "heart" and "gut" all tell me is really, really bad news. Or, as LBJ said about Barry Goldwater (in response to Goldwater's slogan, "in your heart you know he's right"), "in your guts you know he's nuts!"
