The CEO vs. The Cat- Herder

The Huffington Post has a must read interview with columnist Thom Hartmann. Below, Hartmann explains his view on a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans, and why modern Republicans tend to be more effective at communicating their message.

The other problem, both at the level of party and of congress, is the fundamental psychology of conservative versus liberal. Chris Matthews likes to make the joke that about how Republicans want a leader, Democrats want to have a meeting. It's actually true. Republicans, [who assume] that people are intrinsically evil, want to have a wise, good person take control. Democrats, believing [in] a collective wisdom, want us all to have a voice in how things are done.

What this means is that the Republican Party runs like a well-oiled machine, it really runs like a corporation. Top down, hierarchical, power driving from the top down. And when Bush talked about he was going to be the first CEO president, it made a lot of sense to Republicans. The Democratic Party on the other hand is a coalition of coalitions. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are herding cats. That's the weakness of the Democratic Party, but it's also its strength. Because it means that the institution itself is democratic, that it is reflecting the values that it seeks to uphold.

Also in the piece, Hartmann identifies John Edwards as a potential second coming of FDR and Barack Obama as potentially the next JFK.

Again this is really interesting stuff.