Sunday, September 21, 2008

Pointing the Finger the Other Way


I recently came across a small audio clip from npr about the economy and how the Presidential candidates are dealing with it. During perilous times people have a habit of looking for someone to blame. This is proven in the current situation on Wall Street. Both democrats and republicans are pointing the finger and blaming the other on why the economy is currently so bad. At the same time they are defending themselves from each others attacks. The economic crisis has given either candidate a good opportunity to take the lead by playing off of voters fears and promising something different. Playing the blame game works because people are motivated by fear, and if voters do not trust a candidate it is likely they will not vote for him. Obama is saying McCain does not know the economy and is out of touch, playing the fear that he will not know how to handle the economy. McCain claims that the problem on Wall Street originated with the 'washington culture of lobbying' and says Obama was in the middle of it. Obama comes back and defends himself by saying how could he blame him if McCain has been in washington longer than him. This game of attack and dodge is the two candidates playing off of voters fears in a time of peril by blaming the other for economic woes, a sort of witch hunt. The opportunity has arisen and both candidates have leapt at the chance of playing the other as the one at fault. Only time will tell who will gain the most out of this time of peril.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So true. McCain and Obama will do battle with this, "playing off of voters fears." No one can admit what their doing is wrong. The blame game is what's driving this election right now, and it's amazing how people won't even listen to what the candidate from the opposing party says.