Votes

The important thing to remember when you are exposed to any political ad or hear comments made by political analyst tied to either party is the way any statistic or fact s works. One recent ad declares that John McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time. What is not reported is that any vote in congress is part of some negotiation, deal, or compromise. Republican senators are pressured by can be presented in a way to promote a particular point of view.
  I admit I am a Barak Obama supporter but I am going to use an Obama campaign to demonstrate the way lawmakers are encouraged to vote along party lines and not vote their conscience or the perspective of their constituents. Votes on a particular bill may be the result of a behind-the-scenes bargain with another voting block for support for another bill.
In an ideal world McCain would have the chance to explain honestly and in detail any vote that is considered “with Bush”. We would likely find that most of these votes were driven by pressure from the party as well as by McCain’s own opinions. If his opinions were truly inline with Bush’s then the point of the ad is valid, otherwise the ad is misleading.
Naturally, as humans we all try to put a positive spin when explaining our actions and politicians are more experienced at this than common citizens. At least if you ever hear a politician speak frankly you can analyze his words by determining his personal spin. Thirty-second spots on TV are designed for maximum impact requiring no thought on the part of the viewer. We must all use our own minds and not rely on someone else to do our thinking.


Wyo_Knott