There are some speakers who have appeared on the talking-heads shows on tv, in such places as Meet the Press, C-SPAN Nonfiction Books TV, etc., who evidence some of the qualities of the deliberative mind. There are some who are among the anti-, non-, un-deliberative mind set, such as all tyrants who keep whipping boys; yes-men, flatterers, or sycophants; cult leaders who rule by charisma and require the worshipful prostration of reverence (proskynesis); and demagogues who say what people want to hear, not what they ought or need to hear (my definition). I believe a president who is the creature of a clique of advisors belongs among the un-deliberative set. His solutions are those of a (self-styled) decider in chief. Solutions are popped out with only a minimal sense of the process that leads to the result.
Said: “the deliberative mind, which learns through effortful processing”
Said: “and the emotions will arise without the interference of the deliberative mind.”
The following are some examplars of the deliberative mind.
Said of Barack Obama:
Link to: “Analysts Discuss Iraq, Poll Numbers, Obama in 2008 (Originally Aired: October 20, 2006)
“Political analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks analyze … Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s potential presidential run in 2008.
“JIM LEHRER: But summarize why you think this man is so extraordinary, at this stage in his…
“DAVID BROOKS: First of all, he’s the only person maybe in American politics with McCain who generates real excitement, real, real excitement. And Hillary Clinton, to all her credit, does not generate that excitement. So that’s important.
So why does he generate excitement? It’s because he has a deliberative mind. Whenever he sees an issue, he sees all sides of it, and then he works his way through.
“And, you know, I’ve had many conversations with him, and we disagree on most things. But you have a conversation with him, and you feel like he really understands your point of view. And he may differ, but he has a deliberative process that goes on in his mind. [Emphasis added.]
“And I think it’s because of his background. He comes from Kansas. He lived in Chicago. He lived in Hawaii. He lived in the Pacific. He’s got all these things coming through him in his life story, and he’s had to negotiate between them — poverty, Harvard Law School — and so he’s about negotiation.
“And he may be young, but if you have that process going on, I think you’ll be able to magnify the knowledge you have. There, I’ve just done my pay on (ph) to Obama. I mean…”
[NB: Brooks usually represents the Republican or conservative half of the discussion, along with Mark Shields for the other half.]
Said of John Yarmuth:
“He believes in fairness and openness and independence. He doesn’t assume he’s right every time, and he’s more than willing to listen to opposing points of view. He has a deliberative mind [Emphasis added], and he’ll change it if your argument is better. We’ve seen him do it.
“When John started LEO in 1990, one of the paper’s basic tenets was the need to listen to opposing views. To this day, LEO believes it’s important to publish opinions that run counter to our admittedly liberal bent. If we’re criticized in the process, that’s healthy.
”But this sort of thinking has gotten pushed out of our current political system. Anyone who shows an inclination to cooperate with someone from “the other side” pays a price from his or her “own side.” This creates a system that does not — cannot — work for the common good.”
Said of Ron Dellums:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 9th district. Term of office: 1971-1998. Political party: Democratic Party. Born: November 24, 1935. Current Occupation: lobbyist, mayor-elect of Oakland, California.
“A creative, piercing, probing, incisive, thought-provoking, inspiring, charismatic, careful, considerate and deliberative mind [Emphasis added.]. The mind to stand up when others sit down. The mind to act when others refuse to act. The mind to stand even when you stand alone, battered, bruised and scorned, but still standing. Standing on principle, standing tall and standing for the people.”
(Fickle) Brooks does a flip-flop, Friday, 11-10-06! He is now distancing himself from his previous enthusiasm for Obama (above) and swinging over to Hillary Clinton. My suspicion is that he now has begun to think, speaking from his conservative bias, that Obama would be harder for his choice candidate to defeat than Clinton. I admire Brooks and his analyses, but this was a surprise to me.