Thursday, May 22, 2008

'Politics of fear' alive and well in Campaign '08

One way to win people's votes is to scare the daylights out of them. It is a common practice used by both Democrats and Republicans.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama recently provided an example of this in our presidential race. Talking to a group of seniors he said that Arizona Sen. John McCain would threaten the social security that they depend upon because McCain supports privatizing the program. In other words, if McCain is elected president, old people need to be very afraid. Read the rest of the story by clicking here.

Obama has positioned himself as the candidate of 'change' and 'hope,' but this example shows he can be a negative campaigner when it suits his needs. I don't mention this to be critical. I only mention this because this side of his approach does not get reported on much.

1 comment:

Joltin' Django said...

Back in '92, my grandmother told me she cast an early ballot for Bill Clinton because "[President George Herbert Walker] Bush wants to take our Social Security away." Of course she had no proof to make such a statement; but she, and I'm sure millions of folks in her age group, truly believed that a Democratic president was the only thing keeping her from a life on the street. Looks like Obama is overtly playing into what has become a perpetual fear of the elderly, which has absolutely NO basis in fact.

I'm already a cynical sort o' guy. I can only imagine how cynical I'll be if - God forbid - Obama is elected in November.