WTF!?!! You may ask. Well, Brooks is displaying the art of projection, taking all one's faults and flaws, and projecting them onto others. It's a psychological defense mechanism - but it's also a deliberate political strategy. By smearing an opponent with one's own worst attributes, the idea is immunize yourself from being called out on them, make it a "he said - she said" type argument. When a target responds by saying the accuser is the one really guilty of the alleged faults, well onlookers have to go to the trouble of sorting out who is really telling the truth, and it's too easy for them to just say the hell with it and become disgusted with both.
Partisans for either side will go with their candidates; the 'mushy middle' will be turned off. That is one factor in low voter turn outs. When the mud starts to fly, people stay out, and the side with the most mud to throw can triumph. The trick is to find an answer to these attacks that puts the attacker off balance somehow, or at the very least, the Pee Wee Herman defense of "I know you are, but what am I?"
In any case, to read Brooks musing about Hillary Clinton and then shoveling out tripe like this is amusing.
"People who are dishonest, unkind and inconsiderate have trouble attracting and retaining good people to their team. They tend to have sleazy friends. They may be personally canny, but they are almost always surrounded by sycophants and second-raters who kick up scandal and undermine the leader’s effectiveness.
Leaders who lack humility are fragile. Their pride is bloated and sensitive. People are never treating them as respectfully as they think they deserve. They become consumed with resentments. They treat politics as battle, armor up and wall themselves off to information and feedback.
You may think they are championing your cause or agenda, but when the fur is flying, they are really only interested in defending themselves. They keep an enemies list and life becomes a matter of settling scores and imagining conspiracies. They jettison any policy that might hurt their standing."
I can't think of a better description of the Republican field these days. And then Brooks delivers this 'insight" with all apparent sincerity:
Modern politics, like private morality, is about building trust and enduring personal relationships. That means being fair, empathetic, honest and trustworthy. If you stink at establishing trust, you stink at politics.
Of course, the Republican approach turns that on its head; to paraphrase Brooks:
Modern Republican politics, like private moral hypocrisy, is about building social dominance over, and enduring fealty among, your supporters. That means creating the appearance of being fair, empathetic, honest and trustworthy - while always being ready to sell them out. If you stink at conning the marks, you stink at G.O.P. politics.
If you can read between the lines, Brooks is revealing way too much about himself and the Conservative Mind.