For example, consider this poll result and accompanying comments that appeared on bloomberg.com (Obama, Thompson Gain on Clinton, Giuliani, Poll Shows)
Even if you look really hard and pore over the poll results, you'll be hard-pressed to find why people are really in favor of or against any particular candidate or what the candidates think about specific issues. Another peculiarity is polls often tend to emphasize issues such as immigration and abortion rights.
However, it's impossible to get a broad idea of the candidate's stand on any issue.
For example, what does Obama think about Universal Health Care ? Defense Spending ? NAFTA ? Tax Cuts ? Iraq ? How many times did Obama vote in favor of the war ? What is his record on social issues ? Who exactly is donating to his campaign and WHY ?
What does Hillary Clinton have to say about Iraq ? Health Care ? Is she a war-monger ? Does she hire expensive PR firms to fine-tune her image ? What exactly does she mean by moral issues ? Does she mean gay rights ? poverty ? genocide ? Which one exactly ? Who are her campaign donors ?
And so on for each candidate (Republican or Democrat or whoever), you could ask the same set of questions and get no answers.
Instead, if you look at the bloomberg article, you'll see outright obfuscation. Here are but a few meaningless snippets as to why people favored (or disliked) particular candidates (also note the focus on making the elections sound like a sporting event). Abortion rights and immigration are mentioned often.
"A majority of Democrats say they favor ``a candidate who can bridge partisan divides'' -- a central theme of his campaign -- over a candidate ``with long experience in government and policy making,'' "
Obama is ``a new breed and I think he can work with other people better than she can,'' said John Bryan (new breed --- wonder what that means ?)
"A strong majority of poll respondents say national security is more important than social issues, such as abortion, where Giuliani's pro-choice position puts him out of sync with the majority of his party's voters. Giuliani does better with women voters than the other Republican candidates."
Thompson, 64, a former Republican senator from Tennessee, may also benefit from his fame as a film and television actor. ``When I watch him on `Law and Order' I've always loved him,'' said Al Pepe, a 79-year-old retired electronics manager from Jacksonville, Florida.
Penny Crider, a 44-year-old bus driver from Livonia, Michigan, says she opposes abortion and likes Thompson partly because he has consistently opposed abortion rights. ``His core beliefs have never changed,'' Crider, a Republican, said in a follow-up interview. ``He doesn't flip-flop.''
``He reminds me of Reagan,'' said Pepe, a Republican who favors Thompson. ``You want to listen to him.'"
Yes, corporate-sponsored candidates are toxic waste products of the PR industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment