Sunday, January 8, 2012

Presidential Image

Ideally, American voters would base their decision on an impartial analysis of a candidate's positions on the issues. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. A candidate's "image" plays just a big role as policy issues. Let's see if that is the case for you. Please respond to the following issues of "image" for the candidates:
  • Two of the candidates are Mormon. Should one's religious affiliation make a difference in one's voting?
  • One candidate is 75 years old. Should excessive age make a difference in one's voting decision?
  • In 2008, race was a big issue. Should a candidate's race matter? What about gender?
I know that in theory, things such as age, race and religion should not play much of a difference. Why do Americans make such a big deal about these topics?

7 comments:

  1. hey its Olivia French=)
    image is a huge part of the presidential election for some reason, and i believe its because as Americans, we feel the need to strongly express our opinions, and also alot of people are just prejudice and think that if the candidate is a women or black that they would run the country differently than a white male.people might feel out of their comfort zone also because they are not used to those issues coming about.RELIGION SHOULDN'T make a difference, as long as they don't try to impose their beliefs while they are in office.if they are older, that might mean they are more intelligent, or old fashioned, which can be both a good or bad thing.why should race be an issue unless you are actually and indecent racist person?well thats about all i have to say!

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  2. Well it's kind of disturbing that our society has come to this in which you have to look, act, or be a certain way just to do certain things.Religion is something that should not matter because its our own way of expressing what we believe in. The only circumstances in which it would interfere with something is if our president has problems with other religions. Being of an older age does not make it difference, it might mean he has more experience in life, but hey, older people are pretty cool even though they seem grouchy sometimes they usually have great advice and ideas. The worst thing is to be racist. There shouldn't be any kind of discrimination for what color someone is on the outside, it doesn't make a difference for what is in the inside. For gender it definitely is not an issue because women can be just as or even smarter than men.

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  3. Mario Perez.
    I think religion shouldn't matter but voters with other religion beliefs might not support those candidates. Age shouldn't matter also but i think their should be a limit because study's have shown if the candidate is too old he or she might have mental problems and will be at risk to handle the country. I think the whole racist thing is getting old and race shouldn't matter because its really how the candidate deals with the difficult situations a president comes across, as well as gender shouldn't matter. =D

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  4. I say that religion should not matter because what counts is what they do to help this economy get betteer and function instead of ghetting things worse. Age is a bit different, yes it may matter for many reasons and also no. If the candidate is yong they may have a different point of view in things, as by older candidates have way more experience then the youngers do. It shouldn't really matter either way. Race SHOULD NOT MATTER at all because we ae all created equally! We may not be treated equally but created we all are equally!


    Gaby 2nd Period =)

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  5. Alex Abbott
    Period 2

    Some people will say that is does not matter or at least it should not matter if the person is of a certain race or religion, but honestly people in society have their own prejudices so image is (in a way) important because those are the ones who are voting.

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  6. When I vote in this year's election, I hope I disregard the images of the candidates. As long as aspects of the candidate's image does not affect their opinions on policies, I will probably ignore their image. For example, I may agree with one of the Mormon candidates; but if the candidate does not agree with gay marriage because of his religion (I am personally for gay marriage), I will probably not vote for him because of his policies. As for age, I may want to vote for the 75 year old because he might not worry about being reelected allowing him to make tough decisions. But, I will only vote for him if i agree with his views on issues. Race and gender should not come into play either unless it affects their views on issues. I will vote for a candidate because of similar opinions rather than a similar or likeable image.

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  7. Voters, even though they deny it, still pay attention to such things. For some reason people sometimes can't understand the idea that this country is extremely diversified! Minorities have been educating themselves also and it was a matter of time until they were educated enough to be nominated for presidency. Why not? Image is important because from the candidates image comes the people's Opinion. They're opinion determines their decision to vote or not. I personally wouldn't look into age, race, religion or color because in the end what really matters is their ability to THINK and make WISE decisions involving the country. && yes, i understand that people might say "Well he's Mormon so he thinks differently and thats going to persuade him to have certain perspectives on things" but ISN'T THAT WHY WE HAVE THE BALANCE OF POWERS?

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