Even some of our best pollsters appear to have been caught off guard by what took place in the 2002 mid-term elections--a sure sign that we're operating without a good theoretical model of the electorate. I think it's one reason our leaders often look indecisive and weak (Clinton's uncanny instinctive feel for the electorate may have spared him from this perception.) One of our best writers, Frank Rich of the New York Times, is left to glumly hope for a change in the political cycle. Tucker Carlson gloats to Rich that:

…Blogging is a medium that invites response and dialogue, and that's what progressives need. Maybe there's some great brainstorming going on in the liberal think tanks that's about to bear fruit in a great new approach to communicating the Democratic message. I hope so. But in case there's not, it is well past the time for us regular progressive Democrats to do more than moan and even weep about the direction of the country and the seeming impotence of our leaders to do anything about it. What I'm about to do is to try and provoke some thinking, some writing, some talking and finally, some action. Comment here on what's being written and help improve it. Be inspired to come up with your own TOE and write about it on your blog (and link back here!).

…Lakoff's research has led him to conclude that most of us use a metaphor of our nation as a family. The government at the federal, state and local level is thought of as the "parent" and the citizens stand in the role of "children." Those who understand politics in this way do not all have the same family model, however. People that we usually think of as conservatives hold a Strict Father worldview of the nation and politics. Liberals have a Nurturant Parent worldview.

…With so much depending on it, however, there are a few additional considerations. I would suggest that Lakoff's model misses one very important and growing worldview in the electorate. This conceptual metaphor does NOT see the nation as a family. I will call it the "Every man (and woman) is an island" worldview. The central metaphor is this worldview is that of personal boundaries and space. Simply stated:

No one is entited to intrude into my space if I do not intrude into theirs. Those who intrude into the space of others are morally bad and should be punished.

Many of those who operate by this metaphor call themselves libertarians.