“I underestimated Beck”

Ross Douthat thought Glenn Beck’s star was fading but after attending his rally at the weekend is reconsidering. “Now more than ever, Americans love leaders who seem to validate their way of life.” Douthat writes that Beck’s “three-hour jamboree” was a “long festival of affirmation for middle-class white Christians — square, earnest, patriotic and religious.” “Beck proved that he can conjure the thrill of a culture war without the costs of combat, and the solidarity of identity politics without any actual politics. If his influence outlasts the current election cycle, this will be the secret of his success.”