I remember my dad and I having these sorts of discussions on long car rides to and from home and college, pertaining to the simple, yet commonly overlooked aspects of general politics. He and I recently were discussing the two presidential/vice-presidential candidates for this election, and were making reference to the concept of appearance and ethical presentation of the candidate him/herself and its impact on the general audience of America. Most notably, the question of “why do why vote for this person and not the other?” And it is truly something that everyone needs to consider: “am I voting for this individual because I agree with their socio-political views, or am I just voting for them because they look the part of president (and the look/personification of political change in relation to the nature of the political, social, ethical stance and nature of the general populace)?
Not to play stereotypes into the equation, but I am sad to say that there are unfortunately individuals out there who had voted for Senator Obama simply because of his racial orientation, just as there were people who had voted for Governor Palin and Senator Hillary Clint just because they are female. Not to be sexist or racist in any capacity here, but that is what I have observed and that is regrettably what actually happens in this nation. And I am certainly not against having a racially diverse president or a female president/vice-president – truth be told, I frankly don’t care who is our president or their personal background; as long as they we’re qualified for the position, represented that people of the United States well, and I agreed with their socio-political views (that’s what is important to me). I don’t really care what race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual preference that candidate might have – in the end, does it really matter?
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If only there was a way to make people think about the things that are important in an election. Unfortunately people who vote for reasons that are not necessarily beneficial to the United States are a part of democracy too. I wish that there was a way that people could understand all of the things that are necessary to pick a president, but most people do not have the time, inclination, or expertise to judge all of the factors that the president is involved in. However, the number of people who have a detailed understanding of economics, foreign policy, and all of the other factors that are involved in the presidents job. This is where the “shortcuts” that Van Zoonen writes about come into play. The detrimental part is that it is easier to manipulate the “shortcuts” and to create an image that represents a politicians real skills.
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