Politics, \'Spin Doctors\' and Media

¶ … politics, 'spin doctors' and media specialists attempt to carefully craft the image of a candidate, much like they were selling soap, there is inevitably a certain amount of calculated rhetoric rather than real feeling in the persona projected by politicians.

However, it is the duty of every citizen to try to penetrate the rhetoric and the crafted campaign message, and to make the most informed decision he or she can make, about who is the best candidate with the most character and integrity. Merely because this is difficult does not mean that we can shrug and refuse to participate in politics at all. Not exercising the right to vote that people in other countries fight and die for, and people in our own nation fought and died for in the past, is simply wrong.

I think this cynicism about the candidness of politicians is highlighted in the Republican primary race. The concern about integrity is partly why Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney became so unpopular -- he clearly flip-flopped on so many issues, going from a pro-gay rights, pro-Roe v. Wade fiscal conservative during his early years as a governor, to stylizing himself as a right-winger over the course of the presidential campaign. Everyone could see through the charade. Senator John McCain's popularity lies in the fact he takes controversial stances, even in his own party (campaign finance reform) and even contrary to public opinion (supporting continued involvement in Iraq).

Issue 2

Voting the 'lesser evil'

Of course, I would be lying if I did not admit that at times I voted 'the lesser evil' of two proposed candidates. In a two-part system such as ours, with relatively limited choices of candidates, this is inevitable. Furthermore, the narrow representation of opinions on a scale of liberal to conservative in American politics, as opposed to Europe and other nations with a greater number of political parties means that voters often elect candidates they do not fully support on many issues. However, this does not mean that people cannot get excited about candidates in America today. Witness the grass-roots enthusiasm about Democratic Senator Obama's campaign. By rallying young people and using inspirational rhetoric, I believe that many of his supporters do not regard him as a lesser evil, but as a potentially great president. The fact that Senator Hillary Clinton and Obama are engaged in such a contentious race, and the fact that so many people voted on 'Super Tuesday' shows that people are passionate and involved in the electoral process this year, when they truly feel that the candidates have a meaningful message.