… Romney’s rising poll numbers in the aftermath of the debate on Oct. 3 actually reveal the relative failure of Romney’s general election advertising. Millions of dollars in ads couldn’t do what one effective debate performance — and a dismal showing by the president — did. … No one knows […] Read more »
Complex science, simple goal: Votes
Target wrote the book on targeting. The retail giant utilizes what’s called “predictive analytics” to influence the purchasing habits of its customers. And now, that same level of sophistication is shaping our political campaigns as they seek to drive their vote to the polls Nov. 6. Two books tell the […] Read more »
The Lie Factory: How politics became a business
… No single development has altered the workings of American democracy in the last century so much as political consulting, an industry unknown before Campaigns, Inc. In the middle decades of the twentieth century, political consultants replaced party bosses as the wielders of political power gained not by votes but […] Read more »
Outside campaign cash worries voters
Three-quarters of voters are concerned about campaign ads from corporations, unions and wealthy individuals, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The broad sentiment is boiling in an election year in which spending from nontraditional sources has skyrocketed. [cont.] Scott Clement, Washington Post Read more »
Romney Relies On Race To Attack Obama On Welfare
Mitt Romney has stuck with his theme of attacking President Obama over “gutting” the work requirement for welfare. In an often-aired television commercial, Romney’s claims that Obama “quietly” dropped the requirement that welfare recipients find work and instead they “just send you a check”. … I asked a nationally representative […] Read more »
The Unexpected Impact of Coded Appeals
… [R]ecent research by political scientists … suggests that racial and cultural anxieties actually have their greatest political influence on better-educated whites. … So why is racial animus more politicized among well-educated whites? The simple answer is that education imparts social and political knowledge that prepares people to better read […] Read more »