Choices

"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." -- Thomas Gray, 1742

"Fools rush in where wise men never go." -- Johnny Mercer

"In your heart, you know he's right." -- Barry Goldwater election campaign slogan, 1964.

   One would like to think that most people vote with their heads, not their hearts. One would like to think that. However, one would very likely be mistaken.
   Voters too often decide based on a likeability quotient, and cite such reasons as "I just like him, that's all." Or they say "He tells it like it is." Or voters insist that the candidate "doesn't take any crap from any body."
   Candidates whose speeches stress emotional appeal over policy specifics regularly do better in elections than the "pointy headed liberals" assailed by conservative politicians such as Republican Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama. By stressing the "pointy headed" aspect of the opposition, candidates suggest that intellectualism is a fault. That tactic was used to help defeat Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat who lost twice to Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican.
   Some may claim that Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater's campaign in 1964 had a higher emphasis on emotion over intellect ("In your heart, you know he's right.") compared to President Lyndon B. Johnson, but the Democratic incumbent's advantage was subtle, playing on the memory of his slain predecessor, John T. Kennedy, combined with the slogan, "Let us continue."
   The current presidential election campaign shows a return of those tactics, as one candidate emphasizes experience and policy specifics, while the other relies heavily on personal attacks implying -- and often specifically saying -- opponents are stupid, or crooked, or lying, or any of several other negative personal characteristics, while avoiding specifics or even proclaiming as fact many things that are easily proven false.
   Unfortunately, the True Believers readily accept the words of their Glorious Leader over more reliable information available from neutral fact checking organizations and journalists.