The Politics of Fear

"Some political analysts harshly criticized Kerry in 2004 for failing to counter Bush's charismatic style with an equally attractive appeal of his own. Many, like Slate's Chris Suellentrop, complained that Kerry lacked vision. 'Vision without details beats details without vision,' Suellentrop wrote. Others, like Thomas Frank, wrote that Kerry should have countered Bush's 'cultural populism' with 'genuine economic populism.' But, if Solomon, Greenberg, and Pyszczynski are right, it would have been very difficult for any politician--not just the stolid Kerry--to overcome Bush's built-in advantage from being the nation's leader at a time when many voters feared another attack. In 2004, Bush, as the commander-in-chief, still had the unconscious on his side. And that advantage may have proven insuperable."

John B. Judis in The New Republic reports on recent attempts to explain the role of fear in choosing candidates.