Dean's Machismo

The Nation magazine (search) has found the reason why Howard Dean has rocketed to the top of the charts and managed to stay there. An article in the current online edition of the pro-Dean publication suggests that readers, "Look beneath the surface of Dean's plucky, peppery attitude and you'll find the underlying reason for his success. He's butch -- and many Democrats are convinced that's what it takes to beat George Bush."

Now exactly what the word, "butch" means is, at first, a little hard to figure out. But the article reports that too many Democrats don't have it. "From Bill Clinton's 'rhymes with witch' wife to Gore's obsession with earth colors, the party of give-'em-hell Harry has taken blow after blow to the primal parts."

Could the politically correct Nation magazine be making the politically "incorrect" suggestion that Democrats are too feminine? They leave no doubt. "We may resent the fact that Americans regard the penis and its symbolic projections as synonymous with strength. But psychic reality cannot be denied."

How does the Nation magazine get away with praising Dean for his machismo? They don't. The new, politically correct term they use for Dean's machismo is "progressive masculinity."

And that’s the Asman Observer!