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At first glance, President Obama and Mitt Romney share some similar traits. Both Harvard Law School grads are smart and analytical. Both are emotionally reserved rather than touchy-feely. Both are traditionalist in their family and personal lives. But one glaring difference is that Obama seems self-sufficient while Romney seems other-directed.
I’m borrowing the phrase “other-directed” from David Riesman’s 1950 classic, “The Lonely Crowd.”
The Crowd Pleaser
Seeded on Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:01 AM EST
Article Source: The New York Times
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Republicans are especially suspicious of the other-directed type. They feel as if they are battling against the headwinds of a hostile elite culture. They want their candidate to have built his temple upon a rock, to possess an unshakeable set of convictions, to be impervious to the opposition of Washington’s entrenched interests. They also believe that the next president is going to have to make some brutally difficult decisions in order to reduce the debt. This is not a task for someone who is perpetually adjusting to market signals.
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