US Elections

McCain’s “Dangerous” Rhetoric Creates Real Danger

Senator McCain was forced to drop his attempts to associate Senator Obama to domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. In the end, McCain himself had to defend Obama as a “decent man.” The problem, of course, was that calling Obama a terrorist was inciting people to feel physical action, such as killing a prospective future President of…

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Does Negative Campaigning Work? Findings from Recent Research

Personal attacks have become increasingly sharp in the U. S. presidential election. The McCain campaign has even reportedly decided to make character attacks on Senator Obama a primary strategy. Just recently, Telegraph reported, A former McCain strategist familiar with the senator’s tactical discussions told The Sunday Telegraph that he would pursue the “nuclear option” targeting…

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Conservative Anger Toward McCain a Misnomer

There is a lot of talk lately about conservatives being angry at McCain, and there are certainly many articles and blogs out there that are critical of McCain. But it seems to me that “anger” at McCain is kind of a misnomer, or at least only a symptom of the underlying issue. By definition, conservatives…

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Experience and Change Are Not Mutually Exclusive

One of the most vigorous debates in the Democratic primaries pits “experience” against “change.” Hillary Clinton is cast as bringing experience, while Barack Obama is painted as the hope for change.  And now, since much of country is begging for major change—especially given the huge dissatisfaction with the Bush administration—all the candidates are trying to…

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