Greensboro’s War Memorial Auditorium could have doubled for a sitcom laugh track this week when conservative social and political commentator David Brooks took the stage on Oct. 26.
In the second installment of the 2010-2011 Bryan Series lectures, Brooks addressed all things politics in a talk titled “What Will Be the Impact of the Mid-term Eections?” Over the course of an hour, he outlined the increasing lean towards the right, the implications therein for this round of elections, and how the public perceptions of the stimulus and health care plans were provocateurs in this movement.
Between his nine years of past experience with the Wall Street Journal, his regularly featured punditry on PBS “NewsHour” and National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” and his contributions to the op-ed section of The New York Times, Brooks has seen it all where the world of modern U.S. politics is concerned.
His quick wit, stage presence and command of the English language kept the audience engaged, harrumphing or nodding with consideration at all the right moments.
“As I’ve covered politics, I’ve really come to believe that emotions, personality and relationships are most important,” Brooks said. “I’m a firm believer in the liberal arts education. Not just because it teaches you to read and write, but because it teaches you to train your emotions.”
Though Brooks may disagree with some of the president’s decisions and policies, he seems somewhat awestruck by Obama’s presence.
“The most important trait (to know) about Obama to understand his administration is the trait of self- confidence,” Brooks said. “I’m convinced that ‘Obama’ in 50 years will be a unit of measurement for self confidence.”
Brooks also illustrated Obama’s open-mindedness in recalling a meeting he had observed in which the president was discussing a potential bailout for Chrysler with a number of economists, most of whom supported the bailout.
But there was one quiet individual named Austin who hadn’t said much. Obama said to the others, “I want to hear what Austin has to say. I want to hear his opinion.”Many of the tales the pundit wove for listeners featured telling portrayals of immaturity within Washington and the corporate media, suggesting that in spite of the importance of personality and charisma, some of them just don’t have it.
“Politicians are stuck in a system which is just horrible for character,” Brooks said. “It rewards some of the worst behavior.”
The motivation behind the growing number of individuals identifying themselves as conservative cannot be attributed to only one reason. Brooks thinks that there is a sense that Obama is changing things too fast. Additionally, the average American is demoralized watching the stimulus plan unfold.
“Brooks referred to the stimulus plan as ‘hemorrhaging money,’ but I don’t remember him once stressing the costs of the two wars,” said senior and English major Madeleine Straubel. “He definitely downplayed the financial costs of these wars.”
In the question and answer session following Brooks’ lecture he was asked if he still stood by his 2004 statement, “I still believe in ten years no one will doubt that Bush did the right thing (in Iraq).”
He responded by saying he’d take back the “no one would doubt” part, but contended that whether or not it was the right thing to do was an open question.
He addressed the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in terms other than financial.
“The costs have been phenomenally high for this country, for our reputation, obviously for the people of Iraq, and for the members of our military,” Brooks said.
At times, Madeleine Straubel found Brooks’ opinions to be similar to her own, but in some cases not.
“I knew in advance that he was a quote-unquote ‘intelligent conservative’, so I expected that he would have some things to say that I agreed with and some that I wouldn’t agree with,” said Straubel. “He did push some financial buttons for me. We have very different perspectives on what government spending should be spent on.”