Oscar Jr. Was Here

Manliness and Politics

On OpinionJournal, Jay Nordlinger has an interesting essay on the revival of appreciation for virility in the post-9/11 world and its political implications. My favorite bit:

Mr. Rumsfeld, it is true, is the anti-Clinton. We see this in his authenticity, his trustworthiness and his frankness. He is so direct, he practically assaults the modern, spin-accustomed ear. Mr. Rumsfeld freely uses what my colleague Kate O'Beirne has dubbed the "K-word"--kill. When a reporter asked him why U.S. forces were using such heavy bombs in Afghanistan, the secretary replied: "They are being used on frontline al Qaeda and Taliban troops to try to kill them." Oh.

Rather unexpectedly, Mr. Rumsfeld became a kind of sex symbol as the weeks and months after 9/11 unfolded. Women of all sorts were open about their attraction to him. On CNN, Larry King was moved to ask him about his new status as a heartthrob. "Oh, come on," said Mr. Rumsfeld. "For the AARP, perhaps. I'm pushing 70 years old." But that was beside the point--or maybe it was the point itself. Mr. Rumsfeld is, in fact, a throwback: to a time of crewcuts, stiff upper lips and moral clarity. He seems a character out of a World War II flick. Bill Clinton, by contrast, was more a Richard Gere kind of leader. Where Mr. Clinton feels pain, Mr. Rumsfeld is more likely to inflict it--on the country's enemies.

It's an interesting read.