Like any American who cares about this country, I have a deep interest in the results of this election. But as a politician (I think one never really retires from that job), I take a professional interest, as well. Not only for policy or partisan concerns, but because I’m always interested in how people make up their minds on how to vote.
This is an occupational hazard, I think. I was on the ballot 34 times over the course of my career and have spent a lot of time thinking about why people vote as they do. To be sure, we each have our own reasons for where we come down: sometimes based on policy preferences, sometimes because projects we care about will be advanced by voting a certain way, sometimes because there’s one issue we care about above all others. Still, I think there’s one key factor that doesn’t get taken as seriously as it should: likability.
We’ve all heard this notion expressed as, “Who’d you rather have a beer with?” Or, as a group of Democratic women who were planning to vote for Ronald Reagan once explained, they liked the unfailingly gracious and courteous way he treated his wife, Nancy.
This is not frivolous. I’d argue, in fact, that “likability” is actually a complex decision. We tend, for instance, to like people who are positive, constructive, and forward-looking, and who enunciate or profess a feeling of hope. The Rev. Jesse Jackson used to have a phrase he used, “Keep hope alive.” Whatever you thought about his politics, that optimistic, forward-looking view appealed to a lot of people.
We also, whether we know it or not, pay attention to authenticity. It’s a favorite word in politics these days, but I think it’s always been the case that we want candidates who are not fake and who give you a sense of a genuine personality undergirding their public persona. We know it intuitively, and it plays a role in whether or not we like someone.
There’s a policy element to all this, as well, in that we like people who have views and values we can relate to. Or, to put it another way, we don’t favor candidates whose values are alien to ours. Nobody fits our likes and dislikes perfectly, but we make judgments on candidates based on whether they more closely align with our values than the other candidate does.
We also judge “likability” by whether or not we think a candidate is going to serve our interests. We evaluate them on whether they hold roughly the same goals and interests we do, and if so, we’re much more likely to support them. Which is also why we want our candidates to be reliable and steady in their views. We want officeholders we can trust, not people who jump all over, saying one thing one day and another the next.
I think Americans also prefer candidates who display a basic sense of honesty and decency, who possess a strong moral compass, and who show compassion for people who are struggling in their lives. This does not mean we always vote for them — political circumstances or straight-on political calculation can get in the way — but I believe that for most Americans, those qualities matter a great deal.
Clearly, a lot goes into whether or not a candidate is likable, and one voter’s gut sense will differ from another’s. But I can tell you that right now, candidates for office all over the country are focused on this question.
Campaigning is a matter of going from one group to another — sometimes small, sometimes large — and the question always on your mind is how you appeal to this group or person, and how you make yourself likable to them. In the wake of the election, the winners will be patting themselves on the back for having figured it out. And the losers will be left wondering how they might have behaved differently… and been more likable.
Lee Hamilton is a Senior Advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government; a Distinguished Scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies; and a Professor of Practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.
Gary Gibson says
Since both the above writers offer their opinions on why people vote a certain way let me add my 2 cents.
Initially there is the fact, that roughly 40 to 50% of eligible citizens decline to vote. From this perspective, this group of abstainers are the largest voting block. Might it be instructive to ask why?
I guess that if asked, most voting citizens would say America is a democracy because we are called to vote to express our preferences. every few years. Voting is the closest thing we have to giving our consent to be governed. If voting gives a government legitimacy, does it matter if half the people do not vote?
I am over 70 years of age and by and large, have voted for the “lesser evil” each time. Social programs aside, there has been little to separate the two dominant parties. Since the 1970s. Each party has supported tax cuts to the rich to the point where we have historical inequality. Each party has supported the war of drugs and a draconian justice system to the extent that we now have 5 times the amount of people in prison than in 1970. Over a half a million people are in jails or prison for marijuana possession that is legal in several states. Each party has supported the endless wars on terror (and leftist governments) and a defense budget that surpasses the sum of the next 10 countries in the world. It has little to do with our safety, unless you consider corporate markets aboard a security issue.
Both parties support their own corporate and donor agenda more than anything beneficial for the people. A recent Fox exit poll of voters, showed medicare for all was favored by 80 percent. Neither party suggests that this is a path forward. The political operatives of parties are beholding to ruling elites who have much more in common with each other than they do with you or I. The past 50 years of policy has been the ascent of this plutocracy.
Back to why people vote. Maybe it is who is likeable (viewed favorably) Maybe it is who is perceived to be like them (a woman in Rushford was voting for Trump because he talked the way she and her fiends do). I guess most folks vote the way they are told to or see on TV, or just like their friends vote. Policy seems to have little to do with elections. It is a gut feeling we express in a voting booth, much like the act in a restroom, if you will. People vote against their economic interests all the time. How could it be otherwise, when Washington legislates for wall street and the elites.
The republican fliers I found in my mailbox were about the socialist carnage coming if Biden was elected. The Democrats ran on that Biden was not Trump and by bringing back bipartisanship, he was going restore the “soul” of the country. This is the stuff written on public bathroom walls – does it sway you?
Maybe I will join the largest voting bloc next time. Typically, change does not come from the top down. It would be counter intuitive, no? I am old but still hopeful for coming generations. I believe that the way things are today is the result of decisions made and can be undone by the same method. Good luck to all.
Gerald J. Boyum says
1. What you are listing here: likability, honesty, trust, strong moral compass, compassion, etc. certainly would matter. These attributes, however, are affected by others; i.e., how likable and credible would a candidate be if that person is considered dishonest or untrustworthy- like cheating in elections??? Also, focusing primarily on subjective personal attributes would only tell part of the story and provide opportunities for propagandists to play on emotions and turn the selection process into a subjective “personality contest” based on information which they attempt to control.
2. I maintain that the first and most critical consideration, especially for presidential candidates, should be the political ideology associated with them, the ultimate source, and the track record of that ideology. When we elect a president, we are also “electing” all the people who will be appointed by that person including cabinet members and others associated with his administration, and potential Supreme Court justices and judges. This ideology will go a long way in determining how these people will govern, specific agendas and programs that will be promoted, and most importantly what direction they intend to take our country. The critical question facing voters now is it going to be:
a. American Conservatism with Trump/Republican using Biblical/Christian principles that has resulted in the greatest country to have ever existed using “bottom up” rule or self-rule by the people?”. The uniqueness of America’s government experiment is illustrated by the fact that at the time America was founded and in the past, countries were ruled by pharaohs, kings, czars, khans, Caesars, emperors, shahs, sultans, caliphs, dictators, etc. All top-down rule was supported in many cases by considering rulers as “gods” or having “divine right to rule”. Ideas have consequences and theological ideas have tremendous consequences!
b. Democratic Socialism with Biden/Harris based on godless Marxism which has failed everywhere it has been tried in the real world, sometimes catastrophically due to fatal flaws in the ideology? Over 100 million people have been murdered by their governments in the 20th century alone (democide which was the leading cause of death in the 20th century) and millions more imprisoned or sent to “re-education”/work camps. The current example is Venezuela, a country that used to be quite wealthy, but now they are facing shortages of critical items, corruption and bribery, black markets, and “emigration” to neighboring countries after swallowing “hook, line and sinker” the hollow and false promises of dictators in their quests for political power to create a man-made utopian where all are equal in material terms. “The road to hell is paved with “good intentions” an English proverb with a murky origin which may have influenced by Ecclesiastics 21:10: The way of sinners is made plain with stones, but at the end thereof is the pit of hell.”
c. This choice should be obvious to all voters who are reasonably familiar with early American history, and not blinded by socialist/communist utopian fantasies and hollow promises of material equality, but it definitely raises the question of why this information hasn’t been provided anywhere, especially by Republicans, media, and in academia? Is it because well-informed voters-critical element in a democratic process- would be a threat to these utopian schemes that the founding fathers warned us against, as well as recent citizens of Venezuela and Russia have many times?
3. The next element to be considered in electing a president (and all political candidates at the national and state level) is the job responsibilities or job description. It is NOT a personal popularity contest as much of the mainstream media (political activists for one party who are masquerading as free-press journalists) who focus on pulling the wool over the voting public’s eyes again and again by diverting the public’s from such critical issues!) Hiring decisions are normally made by matching candidates’ qualifications against specific job responsibilities of the position. For the president, we are “hiring” a Chief Executive and Commander-In-Chief of the United States which include the following responsibilities:
a. National Defense, which also involves American interests abroad (foreign policies). A strong military is essential for keeping the peace. “Peace through strength” has always been a key part of the Republican Party platform and is the first item in Pres. Trump’s National Security Strategy. Failure here would render anything else meaningless!
b. Overall Command, Control and Deployment of America’s Armed Forces, in coordination with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
c. Our Borders and Immigration Control. A nation without borders is not a sovereign nation. Only potential immigrants who can contribute to America’s success (as many have), their own well-being, and who accept our laws and culture should be accepted. We have plenty of people already here with low job skills, but illegals are competing with them which reduces opportunities and wage levels.
d. Protection of Individual Rights. Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness were endowed by our Creator, and as such are unalienable. (Declaration of Independence) Without the first right, all other rights are meaningless. Religious liberty was one of the main reasons why the colonists fled from England and made the treacherous journey to America.
e. Law and Order. Constitution Preamble: “Ensure domestic tranquility”. Without this one, liberty and rights are threatened as current events highlight. If people cannot be secure in their homes, establish and run business safely, and freely drive or walk where they want to, they are not free!
f. Our Heritage, History, and Principles That Made Our Country Great. Several of these principles are embedded in our founding documents:
– “… “that all men are created equal,”. “Equal” means equal in the eyes of God; it is the source of “Rule of Law”, a foundational element of Western Civilization, starting with the Magna Carta.
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– “Creator”: The God who created us is the source of our unalienable rights which cannot be taken or given away. He is also the ultimate source of moral standards, law, and political philosophy.
– “Rights are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”. Without the Right to Life, other rights are meaningless.
– “That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men,”. The purpose of government is exactly that, to protect our rights!
– “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”. “We, the people” means the ones who wrote and ratified the Constitution of the United States.
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– “…and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” [future generations] This is what make America unique; it is the only country founded on a creed: Liberty.
4. It should be no surprise as to why socialism in all of its forms, including “Democratic” Socialism fails. Its primary elements are in direct opposition to ALL of the items listed above, as well as the right to own property, also a critical element of Liberty and our economic system that creates wealth and prosperity. It is stark testimony to the power of press propaganda and indoctrination in our education system at all levels that have pulled the wool over all-too-many good and well-intended people to produce the political circumstances that we are currently in.
5. Here is what a real American president sounds like: “Our government’s first duty is to its people, to our citizens—to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values.” He not only talked, but actually accomplished much of what he said he was going to do. President Donald J. Trump’s National Security Strategy was a complete repudiation of the entire Obama era, and which had America headed in the same direction as envisioned by our Founding Fathers. Unfortunately for America, it just might be the opposite as Biden and company will strive to undo all what Trump has done. “Make America Great Again” might be turned into “fundamental transformation” or “Make America Venezuela” which just might solve our immigration problem, but at who knows what costs to our citizens!