--- title: 10 Questions for Columnist David Brooks | TIME description: The New York Times columnist talks to TIME about his new book, conservative politics and the 2012 Republican presidential field canonical: https://time.com/video/3mdz1jhH/ og:title: 10 Questions for Columnist David Brooks og:description: The New York Times columnist talks to TIME about his new book, conservative politics and the 2012 Republican presidential field og:url: https://time.com/video/3mdz1jhH/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/3mdz1jhH/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Questions for Columnist David Brooks twitter:description: The New York Times columnist talks to TIME about his new book, conservative politics and the 2012 Republican presidential field twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/3mdz1jhH/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # 10 Questions for Columnist David Brooks > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: 10 Questions for Columnist David Brooks [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Questions for Columnist David Brooks](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3mdz1jhH.m3u8) (4:50)  _Published 2011-03-10. The New York Times columnist talks to TIME about his new book, conservative politics and the 2012 Republican presidential field_ --- Jul 27, 2023 3:10 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Russell Baker, Author and New York Times Columnist, Is Dead at 93](/video/pv6i4nI9/) ### Russell Baker, Author and New York Times Columnist, Is Dead at 93 [2016 Republican Presidential Debate: Donald Trump on Political Correctness](/video/fWUerMuP/) ### 2016 Republican Presidential Debate: Donald Trump on Political Correctness [David Carr, New York Times Columnist, Dead At 58](/video/NECw2quc/) ### David Carr, New York Times Columnist, Dead At 58 --- ## Transcript >> Hi. I'm Gilbert Cruz for TIME and we're here today with David Brooks. He'd been a columnist for the New York Times and author of the new book, " The Social Animal ", the hidden sources of love, character and achievement. David, thank you for being with us today. >> Glad to be here. >> It seems pointless to summarize the thesis of your book in a single question, so I thought-- just give it out or two, what is your book about? >> So we're in the middle of this revolution over the last 30 years. Researchers across a vast array of fields have learned a lot about the inner mind about things that are happening at the unconscious level. And so the book really takes the research and all these different [ unk ] and puts them into one story to give us a better sense of who we are, what's actually going on down there and to give us a different view point and where the real action is. >> Seems like one of the major points you're trying to make is that there are rational level on which humans operate is not as important as the unconscious or the emotional level. >> Yes. So we can take in about 12 million pieces of information in a minute and we can be conscious about 40 and all the rest is happening down below. Sometimes, sometimes there's stupid ways. We all do stupid things. But sometimes in a really smart and subtle ways and it's important to learn what's going on down there. >> So being a-- you worked for the New York Times. >> Uh- hmm. >> Being a conservative voice and what is typically considered to be more liberal newspaper than not. How exactly does that frame affect what you wrote? >> It's mostly the readers, I think they are more liberal than a journalist. And they-- you respect them and so you're trying to reach them and you're trying to have a communication with our readers so I guess it makes you less or want to rate the column that says, look at us, look how right we are all the time. And you wanna write the column that will persuade people who may start off disagreeing with you and you think, " How do I do that? How do I get it so they will read me and pay attention so they can see this point of view ." So I think what it does is it makes you try to be more open and calmer and not just think people disagree with you are evil 'cause if you think that, they're not gonna read you. >> People read you because you write about politics, I just wonder if I could ask you a couple of questions about politics. >> Sure. >> It's the first being, is Obama beatable in 2012? >> He certainly be above the economy is gonna be better but not in a great shape. He's got real problems in the Mid West. Those are states that the Republicans have done extraordinarily well and so I definitely think he's beatable. I would still give him a slight odd of being re- elected but he's definitely beatable. What do you think of the GOP field for 2012? >> I'm not overwhelmed by its quality. Some people are-- interesting personalities like Newt Gingrich, but Newt Gingrich, is not gonna be president, I wouldn't let that guy run, you know, live and let live of the country really interested guy, no management skills. And so there are couple of leaders; Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty and Mitch Daniels. I think those are the three. And so I'm not sure there's a huge number of great candidates and that's not off the weaknesses that Obama has and the one strength he has is the-- so far, what it looks like the weakness of that Republican field. >> And with the-- a quote from your book, the quote is, " Maturity means understanding the different characters inside our own heads ." Have you gotten to the point in your life where you understand all the characters aside of those-- >> I don't know. Not all the characters. But little glimmers of insight, you know, the aloof character the family guy and then just, you know, there's like the little stupid thing that had occurred me the other way, we already know that we think, wish I hadn't sent that one. And so I had sent a really mean e- mail to somebody who works at the paper and I happened to have sent it in the parking lot of my dentist. I was on my way to the dentist. And then two weeks later, I'm in the same parking lot for another dental appointment and I'm writing another nasty e- mail and I think, " Holy cow, I'm anxious about the dentist ." So I'm taking it out on my e- mail partners. So I said, " Okay, I'm not gonna send this e- mail 'til after [ unk ] the dentist ." And so, that's like the tiny little thing but it's being aware of some of the things that are happening, my anxiety about the dentist, all these things float in through you and then when you become aware of that, you could adjust and that's the small example. But I think it's an example to be larger if [ unk ] out of self- understanding. >> Some people would say that's what therapy is for. Is your book a cheap therapy? >> Yeah, I hope so. Yeah. I think it would save a lot of money for a lot of people. But, you know, all good books are that. >> David, thank you for talking to us. >> Okay. 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