AlterNet: Emotion Trumps Logic in the Voting Booth

[marmar]

Emotion Trumps Logic in the Voting Booth

By Terrence McNally, AlterNet. Posted October 24, 2007.


All logic points to Republican losses in 2008. But logic doesn't vote -- and logic doesn't win elections.



An August op-ed in Kenya's Daily Nation included this sentence: "The candidates will do well to go out and buy a book entitled The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation, by Drew Westen." Quoting the article's author, Charles Onyango-Obbo, "Westen has studied elections over the years, and found an inconvenient truth: People almost always vote for the candidate who elicits the right feelings, not the one who presents the best arguments."

Closer to home, as Westen points out, the Republicans led by Karl Rove consistently beat the Democrats at playing to the electorate's emotions. All logic points to Republican losses in '08. But logic doesn't vote -- and logic doesn't win elections. Will the Democrats once more snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, or can they finally learn the crucial lesson that hearts lead minds? Drew Westen weighs in.

Drew Westen received his B.A. at Harvard, an M.A. in social and political thought at the University of Sussex (England) and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan. For several years he was chief psychologist at Cambridge Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He is a commentator on NPR's

All Things Considered and teaches at Emory University.
Terrence McNally: Your Ph.D. is in clinical psychology. You were chief psychologist at a hospital. What was your path to your current focus on politics?

Drew Westen: I think that's a question I've never been asked in about 200 interviews. As a clinical psychologist, I do research in psychology and neuroscience, but I've also been a practicing clinician for 25 years. Many might assume it's an easy move from studying personality disorders to studying politicians. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/64743/

[BridgeTheGap]

1. I think this is true in the age of soundbite driven campaigns

How could it not be?
It is true that voters have the option of digging deeper but most don't pursue that option.
However, it has been proven that an effective grassroots effort at educating voters can have a significant impact on election outcomes, particularly in tight races.
If people's primary concerns are identified and you provide them with information related to those conerns, they will probably read it.
Grassroots organizing is the only hope we have of igniting a true democratic revival.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Two things always win: Good-looking, and "Beer-with"--no matter which party.