It appears Harvey
Mansfield (how appropriate) has made the definitive Manly statement concerning Dumbya, saying that he possess two very manly qualities, boldness and determination. Did he ever stop to consider that they actually may be arrogance and stubbornness? Nah. That would be too obvious a conclusion. Best to word play and double speak. Or mabye he really means that Dumbya is a Manly Man and he does things in a Manly Way while sailing aboard the Raging Queen.
Some pearls of manliness from Mr. Mansfiled:
George W. Bush. Bush is bold and determined, two manly qualities, and his critics consider him over-manly, not unmanly. But don't forget that manliness is not all of virtue.
To resist rape a woman needs more than martial arts and more than the police; she needs a certain ladylike modesty enabling her to take offense at unwanted encroachment. In my experience it is difficult for a man who is attracted to a woman not to find her cute, rather than intimidating, when she gets angry.
More after the fold.
Manliness I take to be confidence in a situation of risk. That can be a question of danger, and it can also be a question where your authority is contested. So put those two together and you've got a sizable risk, say, a battle. And manly confidence and manliness means an ability to take charge or to be authoritative in that situation. Women also have confidence, but they don't seek out situations of risk the way the way that manly men do. Manliness can be a virtue. It isn't necessarily a virtue. You can have confidence in a situation of risk -- if you're very evil as the Islamic hijackers attacking the World Trade Center, that kind of manliness. So manliness by itself, I would say, is a quality, and it has to be refined or improved to make it a virtue.
Feminism abolished the idea of femininity but only wounded manliness. It claimed and still claims that women can be as manly as men, but on condition that manliness is redefined in the direction of womanly sensitivity. Manly men did not fight back because they are not in the habit of fighting women, and because we all believe in democratic equality.
We should want to raise boys to be manly. I don't see any other way than to introduce them to the things expected of men as a sex. And to the things to be expected of women. Boys are very aware of their sex, but our education today asks them to ignore it. This serves only to confuse them.
QUESTION: You've taught both William Kristol and Andrew Sullivan. Would you say that Bill Kristol is a manly man?
MANSFIELD: Yes, I would very much, and so is Andrew. To do what Andrew Sullivan has done takes a lot of courage. He came out of the closet, which was kind of a manly act. And he has been one of the first and one of the most successful bloggers. And there he takes his own path, no doubt influenced by his sexuality, but still full of reason and emphasis.