How to Sell Your Soul Inadvertently

It's a shame that journalistic gems such as these require top dollar to read in full ...

» David Brooks - November 9, 2006: "The Middle Moves In"

If you wanted to pick out a stereotypical swing voter in this election, it would be a white evangelical suburban office park mom in a blue state suburb. She's part of the one-third of white evangelicals who voted Democratic this year, as did 20 percent of self-described conservatives. She supported the Iraq war once but believes it has been conducted terribly. She doesn't have a lot of faith in government generally -- 54 percent of voters believe government interferes too much, while only 37 percent want it to do more, according to a recent CNN survey -- but she does think government should be able to accomplish its core missions.

» David Brooks - November 30, 2006: "Waiting to be Wooed"

Over the next few months, pollsters are going to pick out the key demographic groups (left-handed Catholic orthopedists) and offer advice on how to kiss up to those people. Majorities are never built that way. You end up proposing inconsequential micropolicies and selling your soul.

The real shame of it all is that there's a side of Brooks' writing that I truly enjoy. Not so much the shallowness of his worldview, nor the ridiculous stereotyping that he engages in. But rather, he covers a good beat that deserves more attention from a wider swathe of modern journalism ... namely the new suburbs, heretofore known as exurbs. While I think "Bobos in Paradise" captured Brooks' overuse of stereotype in the feeble effort of making a point, I've long been more intrigued by "On Paradise Drive" despite Michael Kinsley's masterful point regarding the "difference between sociology and schtick." Making my life far simpler is the fact that it's now available for a whopping $6.99 on Amazon.com. At that price, I'll take my chances wading through Brooks' schtick.