Re: Why do they think they have to lie?
Originally posted by Drowned Rat:<br /> And another thing, why do politicians post those stupid signs all over the place. On every corner there are at least a dozen banners. Are we supposed to vote for whoever posts the most signs?
Everything y'all have said is true, and the answer is really just market research, plain and simple. Research tells us that people remember negative things longer and more clearly than positive things. Campaign people know this and use this and will continue to do so until it doesn't work anymore (which isn't likely, as it seems to be psychological in nature). <br /><br />The most popular form of campaigning and advertising is using FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) to make your target audience uncomfortable, and then try to comfort them. It's the same tactic abusers use to take advantage of their victims. It's sad, it's disgusting, and it's rampant. The only defense from it, as you implicitly stated, DR, is education. <br /><br />On an additional note, a friend and I asked a local politician who was soliciting our vote why he put those d@mn ugly signs everywhere in our neighborhood. He explained how his campaign managers explained it to him and sent us some links to research articles on political sign-posting. It turns out that the signs made a huge difference according to the research--enough that he felt compelled to use despite personal tastes (
). Anyway, my $0.02, whether it's worth it or not
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