No Ideal Candidate Makes for Hard Choice at Election Time

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In the 12th century, a series of natural disasters hit the Middle Kingdom – China. After the disasters, in the Forbidden City, officials reported to the emperor that people did not have enough rice to eat as a result of the disasters. Without much empathy, the Emperor responded that the people should eat more meat.
From that time on in China, when a person is out of touch with society or does not truly understand the plight of others, this story is used to describe that person.
Unfortunately, this story can be applied today to Gov. Mitt Romney. For example, when discussing health care, he stated that an individual, even with no health insurance, can go to emergency room and get care when heor she is seriously sick.
What he failed to realize and understand is the state of mind of the individual. With no health insurance, there is a fear of the unknown and a lack of security. Fear is enemy No. 1 to happiness.
President Obama is not without fault, either. Four years ago, he promised that he would change the culture of Washington, D.C, after he was elected. After four years as president, a very large number of the people in this country believe that he has failed to live up to his promise and that, rather than changing Washington, it has changed him.
The truth of the matter is that Obama failed to understand the implications of reform. Political reform is the most difficult of all reforms.
As you can see, we, as voters in the 2012 election, have a hard choice to make. There is no ideal candidate.
After the election, a few things will be certain. First, there will be more people unhappy with the outcome of the election than those who are happy. This is based simply on voter turnout. Voter turnout likely will be less than 60%, which means that more than 40% of the population doesn’t care, doesn’t believe their vote will make a difference or just doesn’t know.
In a race as close as this one, the winner will win by only a small margin. Based on this, the next president actually will be elected by a minority (in number) of the population.
Not a good start in terms of leading this country.
Second, based on both external and domestic conditions, our country faces more hard times ahead.
Third, no matter which candidate wins, Congress will not cooperate. The current political stalemate will continue.
After that little bit of background, we turn our focus to the American voting behavior and what factors determine how we vote.
The most difficult aspect of politics is voter behavior, because it deals with human psychology. Simply put, it is mind over matter. Your beliefs will control your actions.
Even though there have been many studies on voter behavior, there is more disagreement than consensus on what is going through a voter’s mind when they step into the voting booth. Based on several studies, the following factors are common in determining how we vote.
• The Party: What party is the voter associated with? A prominent factor in determining party affiliation comes from a voter’s parents. Whether a voter identifies as a Republican or Democrat is passed down from generation to generation. You most likely will vote the same way your parents vote. However, over the years, political parties have become weaker. As such, party lines are becoming weaker as well.
• The Policy: These are the voters who do not focus on labels but rather focus on the issues. They determine whom they will vote forbased on platform and policy rather than whether the candidate is a Republican or a Democrat. The issues could be health care, Social Security, Medicare, woman’s issues, gun control, capital punishment, national debt or others. The number of policy-oriented voters has grown and will continue to grow.
• The Candidate: A candidate’s background, family values, charisma (or lack thereof), trustworthiness or political background will play a definite role in voters’ decision. Voters want a candidate with whom they can identify with and who they believe understands their plight.
• The Incumbent: More times than not, the incumbent has the advantage over the challengers. In general, if the public is happy or satisfied with what the incumbent has accomplished, regardless of how they voted in the past, they will vote for the status quo, the incumbent. At the same time, if the general public is unhappy with what the incumbent has accomplished, the challenger becomes a much more acceptable alternative.
• The Acting Performance: It is a well-known fact that when it comes to politics, most Americans are not well informed or just not interested. People are more interested with how their favorite sports team is doing or who is going to get voted off on their favorite reality TV show. For these voters, performance at the national convention or debates is crucial. This is an opportunity for the candidate to win votes.