It’s close to election time in 1988 and Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis is on CNN. Many have criticized his opposition to capital punishment, and CNN anchor Bernard Shaw asks, ”If Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?”

Instead of expressing rage or demanding revenge for the hypothetical murder of his wife, Dukakis responds by citing statistics that there is no evidence the death penalty actually has a discouraging effect on criminals. Immediately after the show, his approval rate drops 10 percent. Later, his campaign manager Susan Estrich says, “When he answered by talking policy, I knew we had lost the election.”

In the book “The Wimp Factor,” psychologist Stephen J. Ducat explores how events like this play a major role in American politics, with politicians constantly struggling to prove their conformity to stereotypically “masculine” traits. From the very onset of the book, Ducat’s background as a clinical psychologist is clear as he sees a connection between psychological conditions and voting behavior. Ducat argues that most men feel insecure about their manhood due to the constant pressure to conform to stereotypes. In an effort to reinforce their sense of manhood, they vote for politicians who seem more traditionally masculine.

The book’s front cover, with a plastic doll of President George W. Bush in a U.S. Air Force outfit combined with the book’s title, gives the impression that Ducat‘s intentions are to provoke his readers. But while his examples are vivid, the conclusions provocative and the language informal, Ducat takes this topic seriously–perhaps more seriously than his readers will. His Freudian stance is often quite hilarious (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not), and at times, his argument gets lost in this obsessive focus on symbolism. Readers often have to take Ducat’s explanations with a leap of faith, as he sees genital symbolism in everything from bombs to football.

When Ducat offers examples with less room for interpretation, such as politicians referring to each other as “sissy” or “wimp” when not supporting military invasions or wars, his point is much stronger. Overall, "The Wimp Factor" comes with some serious flaws, such as a lack of support for some arguments. But at a time where you can buy a talking President Bush Air Force doll complete with an oxygen mask, a helmet and a body fully equipped for action, it’s hard to reject his main point.