Why does it seem americans like their politicians to "talk tough"?

[george_maniakes]

I'm probably generalizing too much, but it seems like your leaders get away with "tough talk" without having to answer the necessary follow through questions that come as a consequence of all that talk. It seems like theirs not enough people in the media who seem willing to say "With all due respect, what the fuck are you talking about mr. president?".

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Fear.

Pure unadulterated fear.

[harun]

9. I agree. Fear, Fear and then a helping of extra FEAR

Our institutions are still fighting a Cold War that is over. We don't even know who the enemies are anymore. People just know we need to fight something... all the time.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Because most Americans are beta primates

And because too many Americans are unwilling to think and judge for themselves, which means their baser, more primate instincts are more prominant than they are in other groups of humans.

[BlooInBloo]

3. and stupidity and bigotry. Americans really are a mean people.

[sniffa]

4. Because they're cowards, and they need someone to live vicariously through?

[RoseMead]

5. I like my politicians to talk smart

I'm wierd that way. Alas, I also suffer the from the heartbreak of frequent disappointment.

[NotThisTime]

6. When abroad over the last several years I've heard this question often

Our politics is a great source of interest from abroad... we've tried to explain it, but you can only explain so much

[pbca]

7. It's not all Americans

But the poorly educated, the ones who don't really read (those who can read and don't are still illiterate) like things simple, they like one liners and simple solutions. The problem is the real world is complicated and complex problems rarely lend themselves to one line answers. The people who like their politicians to 'talk tough' are also the ones who are least likely to think about the feasibility of what is being proposed.

Should a nation with massive debts really cut taxes?

Are welfare moms really responsible for the decline of the middle class?

etc., etc.,

The problem is that in order to get elected you have to appeal to both the educated and the simple AND a significant number of the educated (not all or even most but enough) want something substantial (and often selfish) in return for their support

[Speck Tater]

8. The human race survived by being the meanest S.O.B.s in the jungle.

We have a deep-seated instinct to admire the mean and the tough. Our film heroes are all mean and tough and bash the crap out of those evil-doers who threaten us.

It's just another of the many, many reasons why the human race is doomed to extinction.

"Stupid humans. Stupid, stupid humans." --Ed Wood

[TexasObserver]

10. John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sly Stallone films

Imaginary tough guys, who talk tough and back it up with lethal, extralegal actions.

[DutchLiberal]

13. Yet we, in The Netherlands, watch the same movies with those same 'heroes'....

And our 'leaders' normally don't engage in the kind of 'tough talk' you'll hear from Bush/McCain/Clinton etc. And if they do, they will be criticized by both journalists and the parliament.

So it seems you need a more thorough explanation than blaming film once again.

[2rth2pwr]

11. "With all due respect, what the fuck are you talking about mr. president?" sounds like

tough talk to me.

[george_maniakes]

14. That was me paraphrasing a reporters attempt to get answers from the president...

As in hounding the fucking guy on statements that amount to jingoism. I freely admit i can be manipulated by my government (Canada) to hold opinions contrary to my moral values. Are americans in general also aware of that threat? Or do they refuse to believe they can be duped?

[npincus]

12. must big balls go with a small brain?

Do RWers think they're dinosaurs?

[Crunchy Frog]

15. Small penis issues?

:shrug:

[stillcool]

16. I've noticed come election time..

I conveniently forget the truth. Like why we are in Iraq, or why we have to 'hunt down' Al Quaeda in Afghanistan, or why we have to protect Israel, when they have a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons. I was so grounded in what I had learned about the history of the empire, and who the people are that make the decisions that affect not only the people of this country, but the people across the world. But then elections come around and defending a candidate, or defending a preacher, or reacting to caustic, belittling, demeaning words spoken to assault a human being, has me censoring my responses, and leaving out some inconvenient truths. In effect becoming what I hate, and distorting my own reality.