Drew Westen Tries To Help Dems Grow Some Stones

"Hearts over minds, he tells Democrats" from the LA Times reports on Drew Westen, a psychologist who appeared at the progressive "Take Back America" and advised Democrats on how to talk aggressively and emotionally to compete with Republicans. 

Westen, author of The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation (titled to appeal to weenies) from Emory University and formerly of Harvard Medical School, is the latest consultant to put some testosterone into the Democrats' spines.  He recommends employing messages that appeal to voters' emotions rather than spouting statistics and endless policy points. 

However, it would seem that without a comprehensive set of principles to work from, merely ratcheting up emotions will not do the trick - and a few sleazy ads won't either - there must be some authenticity rather than checking in with the pollsters constantly to "frame" the message.  There, in short, should be some sincerity. 

Patterico weighs in...