Palin… projects through the screen like crazy. I’m sure I’m not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, “Hey, I think she just winked at me.” And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can’t be learned; it’s either something you have or you don’t, and man, she’s got it.
I think it’s time for the National Review to start drug testing.
It turns out that the less control a person feels, the more likely they are to see patterns or make connections that don’t exist….
Really not the explanation I was looking for, but there is an interesting side note to it:
Conspiracy theories and even political exploitation of this quirk in human perception could be more serious. Disproven and illusory political concepts such as the idea that immigration is harmful to the U.S. economy or that Saddam Hussein was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks find fertile ground in minds that are feeling less and less secure, said Galinsky.
Fortunately, Whitson and Galinsky have also found that when their subjects underwent “self-affirmation” exercises to give them a better sense of control and security, the illusions went away.
In other words, when Republicans play the fear card, it makes people a lot more willing to believe really stupid shit.
