Two Democrats, Five Republicans

Quote of the day:
“Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four.”
--Katharine Hepburn

Right now, no one is really in the lead for either the Republican or Democratic presidential nomination. It’s a tossup between Clinton and Obama, and among the Republicans the race is wide open--at this point the nominee could be any one of five candidates.

It’s been a long time since there was this much uncertainty and excitement about a national election. Isn’t it great?

We are already seeing the very sly use of sophisticated marketing operations. It’s clear they’re sly because the sources of quotes and “information” about candidates are virtually invisible.

I like to think that the only people who take these quotes and “information” seriously are those who already believe them anyway. But it’s not that simple.

There are ways to implant a suggestion or a phrase--true or not, fair or not--in the minds of reporters and commentators who don’t realize or admit that they’re being manipulated.

Due to the voracious appetite of news channels and talk shows for anything to talk about, these things begin to spread and be repeated--sometimes obviously, sometimes subtly over time. They become part of the fabric of a candidate’s story.

They cannot be reversed. No amount of clarity or logic matters.

We may not realize that we hear these things and then begin believing them. Yet these beliefs are what shape elections. Not truth, facts or argument.