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Go Home Mortal Coil

POLITICS JANUARY 15, 2011

Mortal Coil

BY JOHN B. JUDIS

Consider the following reactions to the tragic shooting in Tucson: First, President Barack Obama’s speech got rave reviews (“magic,” New York Times columnist Gail Collins called it), even though, by the standards, say, of Bill Clinton’s Oklahoma City address, it was pretty humdrum, especially during those times when the president was trying to draw lessons from the tragedy rather than eulogizing its victims. Second, Obama’s approval rating, taken after the killings but before the speech, has risen and is now above 50 percent in the Pollster.com average, even though he did not do anything remarkable in that period. Third, Republicans and conservatives, however much they might insist that their strident opposition to Obama had nothing to do with the killings, appear chastened. (Sarah Palin is the exception.) The House leadership postponed its treasured vote on health care repeal, and Fox News head Roger Ailes said to an interviewer, “I told all of our guys, shut up, tone it down, make your argument intellectually. You don’t have to do it with bombast.”

What’s going on here? I don’t know, but I am going to speculate. We’ll never know for sure whether there was a link between the apocalyptic anti-government rhetoric of the right and Loughner’s actions, but the public, I believe, has drawn a connection—unconsciously if not consciously—between the killings and the contemporary political climate. I think both Ailes, who is no dummy, and the Republicans have sensed that.

In August 2007, I wrote in The New Republic about three psychologists—Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski—who had conducted experiments to show how the unconscious fear of death, and the defenses it triggers, have influenced our politics. Among these defenses were a preference for charismatic leadership and a renewed appreciation of flag and country and of traditional mores. The psychologists found, moreover, that these defenses could be triggered unconsciously by subliminal cues.

I think what happened in the wake of the Tucson shootings was, on the one hand, quite expected: People pulled together, they expressed their sympathy for those killed and wounded, and, in this way, they reaffirmed their commonality. And perhaps, if asked specifically what had caused the shooting, they would have said it was a chance medical event. But there was an added element, triggered by the nature of the event, which came partly from believing that this was a political and not merely a medical act: a renewed respect for the structure of public authority that Loughner threatened and for the leader at the head of it—which was triggered by a fear that Loughner’s act threatened that broader community and its leader, the president. That’s why, I think, Obama’s approval ratings climbed, even before his speech. And it’s why his speech itself was received so magnanimously and generously.

The reaction, of course, will eventually wear off—perhaps sooner rather than later, as Jeff Greenberg, who happens to teach psychology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, reminded me when I called him to share my speculations. Republicans are already plannning to introduce the repeal of the health care bill. Still, Obama has a moment, similar to Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma bombing and George W. Bush after Septmeber 11, where the country is looking to him for leadership again. 

John B. Judis is a senior editor of The New Republic.

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9 comments

Finally we have a journalist who is trying to make some sense of all this madness.

- LawrenceGulotta

January 15, 2011 at 7:31am

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Fear of death? Or is it not being very well acquainted with death? With advancements in medicine and with relatively few disasters, many Americans are not well-acquainted with death. I know many, in their 30s, 40s, even 50s, who have never experienced death up close (with the death of a grandparent, parent, sibling, child, or close friend); and even those who have experienced the death of a grandparent, it's often remote (someone who resides in a different city or state and with little connection other than bloodline). The shouting and cheering at the memorial service reminded me of the depictions of primitive tribes shouting and cheering to scare away evil spirits. For those born in the 19th or early 20th century, death was a constant companion, from disease (estimates of up to a million people in the US died in the 1918 flu epidemic, up to 100 million worldwide), child birth, wars. I have commented many times that, for a "Christian nation", most are terrified of death ("death panels" being but one manifestation of that fear). I suppose we in the US should be thankful that the second half of the 20th century was so free of death. Perhaps the reaction to the violence in Tuscon is the result of a growing sense of foreboding that we may not be as blessed in the 21st century.

- rayward

January 15, 2011 at 9:06am

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I have a conscious fear of death, and of right-wing extremists, and of right-wing extremists with guns.

- roidubouloi

January 15, 2011 at 12:38pm

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"Adn perhaps, if asked specifically what had caused the shooted" You know, Microsoft Word has these useful little utilities called spellcheck and grammarcheck that would help with things like "adn" and "cause the shooted." Just a tip... (In case anyone wants to pull up some my own heavily typoed back posts, I'll point out that there is no spellcheck in this chat window and also that I am not paid for what I write.)

- AaronW

January 15, 2011 at 5:22pm

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As for the content of Judis's post, well, it seems to me that this is the sort of non-falsifiable speculation that I'm sure fuels Friday evening drinking sessions in certain Georgetown bars. In the past it wouldn't have gone any further than that, but now in this age of instantaneous publication a post like this gains equal footing on the TNR website with actual reportage. On a related note, it seems to me that the frequency of posts on all the main TNR blogs is way down. The Vine, in particular seems all but defunct, but Chait, Scheiber and Cohn seem to have cooled off considerably as well. Can it be that that y'all have seen the light that blogging don't pay the bills (or contribute many professionally significant clips to a journalist's curriculum vitae)?

- AaronW

January 15, 2011 at 5:34pm

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Wow, a Judis post that downplays the strengths of Obama and highlights the genius of Clinton. Colour me shocked.

- icarusr

January 15, 2011 at 8:40pm

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I don't fear death for myself, but I occasionally am afraid of unanticipated disasters: airplane crashes, witnessing people or a favorite pet dying under horrible circumstances. For example watching someone violently taking h(er)is own life. I think a subconscious or unconscious "death wish" doesn't really exist. It's another myth we make up to entertain ourselves and/or others in idle moments.

- Tgossard

January 16, 2011 at 10:40am

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Roi took the words right out of my mouth.

- WandreyCer

January 16, 2011 at 3:28pm

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Wow! McCain came out today and called Obama "a patriot."

- ironyroad

January 16, 2011 at 9:56pm

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