understanding and validation

On my way in to work this morning I was listening to NPR which I do most mornings. They were talking about the up coming election which is about all they ever talk about. They were discussing Newt and Mitt. Ha, what funny-sounding names! Newt and Mitt.

This is not a political post. I listen to stories about politics because I don't want to appear stupid. I get a little out of it before my mind starts to wander on to other things that interest me more. So this analyst was saying that he liked Mitt more and thought that he would make a better President. But he said that he thought that Newt understood the Republian party better. He thought that Newt was more in tune with the feelings of the Republian party. He said something that made me sit up and listen. He said that when a woman tells a man about a problem that she is having, that the man always immediately starts to offer solutions. He said Mitt is like that. But that isn't what the woman wants. She is capable of thinking up her own solutions. What she wants is understanding and validation. She wants him to say (these are my words not his, his were a little more formal) "Awh, that sucks." "I understand how you feel." Followed maybe by a little pat on the hand. I totally identified with what he was saying.

He said that Newt gets this and offers the pat on the hand first and then helps solve the problem. So I guess Newt is more like a woman.