Speechwriting is not about ideas, it’s about feelings

Why conservatives win the war of words by appealing to powerful emotions I remember taking Psychology 101 during my freshman year in college and feeling like I’d been given a third eyeball, seen through which the world was a wholly fresh place. Why do I remember that now? Because Drew Westen took me back there at the Speechwriters Conference in Washington Feb. 14, during his session on how politicians can—and can’t—influence voting behavior with their rhetoric.