Does image trump issues in a Presidential campaign?

[DeeDeeNY]

It's difficult to imagine that the electorate is so lazy and shallow that image is all-important. Tweety said something similar last night, when he said the Dems need to get the focus back on the issues.
By the time the debates are here, it could be too late to shake people's awareness. It's time to take the gloves off.

[ContinentalOp]

1. Duh

Welcome to the 20th century. You have some catching up to do :P

[DeeDeeNY]

5. I was actually thinking of Nixon's 5 o'clock shadow when I wrote the post

I was just curious if others believed that too, and I wonder what Obama's advisors think.
Once an image gets stuck in people's brains, that's it for them -- whether it was Nixon's Five o'clock shadow debating JFK, or Dukakis being photographed in the tank, or Bush Sr. looking at his watch during a debate. It could be a photo or a sound bite. Even W's "you're doing a heckuva job, Brownie" crystallized the beginning of the spiral downward for him in the public's perception.

[ContinentalOp]

2. oops, double post -nt-

[GreenEyedLefty]

3. Yes, and apparently e-mail forwards can sway elections, too.

Idiocracy, here we come.

[napi21]

4. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who vote based on appearance,

image & personality! I have had quite a few people say "I don't like McCain, he's ugly!" or "I like McCain because he feisty!" BTW, one of the same people who said they don't like McCain because he's ugly, also told me 4 years ago that they hated Kerry because he looked like Jay Leno!

It's pretty sad, but many voters are very shallow in their judgement. I'm not sure if they really don't pay attention to issues & positions, or if over the years, they've seen so many campaign promises that weren't kept, they just don't trust anything they hear out of anyone's mouth.

[DeeDeeNY]

7. If Palin was not attractive

the Repukes would not be going crazy over her. But that's probably one of the reasons she was selected. Sad.

[AlCzervik]

6. hmm, Kerry brought up policy issues and what did the rw say "He looks french"

and that's what we're dealing with.

[TwilightGardener]

8. Almost always. Voters are looking for a likable character, a good story--

and the interest in issues is going to be at a superficial sound-bite level, at best: he'll raise your taxes, drill here drill now, I'm for renewable energy, I'm pro-life/pro-choice. All people want is a thumbnail sketch of where a candidate stands on the issues, and the rest is pure image and narrative and symbolism.

[nc4bo]

9. "They've" been brainwashing us to think this way for quite a while now.

VH1, MTV, fascination with trash tv, satellite radio and old fashioned am/fm radio before that, the music we listen to, celebrity worship, talk shows, racy commercials and ads and articles in magazines and newspapers.

It's a mess and shallow sells.