Three Kinds of Fox
McCain has a fox's temperament and instinct - he frequently changes his mind about things; he has shown himself to be open to other points of view; he's willing to make things up as he goes along; he is uncomfortable toeing the party line or even sticking with a particular position.
At the same time, he is obsessed with honor, and whenever matters of honor arise, he becomes rigidly moralistic. He has a habit of impugning the motives and character of his opponents, accusing them of cowardice (a sin according to his martial code of honor) or dishonesty or corruption. And on the occasions when he realizes that he himself has transgressed one of his principles, he makes a big show (apparently sincere) of contrition. This kind of moralism is very hedgehog.
My hunch - and it is only a hunch - is that something in McCain considers his inconsistent, improvisatory, fox-nature to be somehow unacceptable. He has an idea of what an honorable man should be - probably something having to do with consistently upholding certain standards of honesty, loyalty, fairness, courage - "doing the right thing" even when it's to your disadvantage. He sees himself as failing to live up to that standard - which would be accurate, because, on many important occasions (abandoning his first wife; the Keating Five scandal; making nice with Jerry Falwell; the tactical choice of Sarah Palin; the current scurrilous campaign), he has not lived up to these standards. That makes him angry and frustrated because he is at odds - at war, in fact - with himself.
Obama is a fox of a different color - and he seems perfectly happy to be one. He seems fully at ease with his own temperament, which inclines him to an essentially pragmatic, non-ideological approach to life. One gets no sense of inner conflict with him. Indeed, this is one of the sharpest contrasts between him and McCain - Obama comes across as very comfortable in his own skin and very temperamentally consistent, whereas McCain seems edgy and frustrated. No doubt McCain's demeanor owes much to the fact that he's losing to a candidate whom he considers his inferior, but even so, his temperamental dissonance is a bit weird in a man of his age.
And then there's the fascinating case of Sarah Palin. She is no doubt an unambivalent hedgehog - indeed, she's a paragon of the type. But she also happens to be quite a fox.
At the same time, he is obsessed with honor, and whenever matters of honor arise, he becomes rigidly moralistic. He has a habit of impugning the motives and character of his opponents, accusing them of cowardice (a sin according to his martial code of honor) or dishonesty or corruption. And on the occasions when he realizes that he himself has transgressed one of his principles, he makes a big show (apparently sincere) of contrition. This kind of moralism is very hedgehog.
My hunch - and it is only a hunch - is that something in McCain considers his inconsistent, improvisatory, fox-nature to be somehow unacceptable. He has an idea of what an honorable man should be - probably something having to do with consistently upholding certain standards of honesty, loyalty, fairness, courage - "doing the right thing" even when it's to your disadvantage. He sees himself as failing to live up to that standard - which would be accurate, because, on many important occasions (abandoning his first wife; the Keating Five scandal; making nice with Jerry Falwell; the tactical choice of Sarah Palin; the current scurrilous campaign), he has not lived up to these standards. That makes him angry and frustrated because he is at odds - at war, in fact - with himself.
Obama is a fox of a different color - and he seems perfectly happy to be one. He seems fully at ease with his own temperament, which inclines him to an essentially pragmatic, non-ideological approach to life. One gets no sense of inner conflict with him. Indeed, this is one of the sharpest contrasts between him and McCain - Obama comes across as very comfortable in his own skin and very temperamentally consistent, whereas McCain seems edgy and frustrated. No doubt McCain's demeanor owes much to the fact that he's losing to a candidate whom he considers his inferior, but even so, his temperamental dissonance is a bit weird in a man of his age.
And then there's the fascinating case of Sarah Palin. She is no doubt an unambivalent hedgehog - indeed, she's a paragon of the type. But she also happens to be quite a fox.