In Defense of Rhetoric

Michael Kazin argues, persuasively in my view, that effective rhetoric is a really important part of being an effective politician so it makes little sense to castigate a rival as offering rhetoric rather than results. Obviously, rhetoric alone won't make the country a better place (it could be effective rhetoric in pursuit of bad policies) but it's an important element of an effective politics.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/03/in-defense-of-rhetoric/43626/