Superficial analysis of US Electoral Campaigning byTODAY
Sometimes, I wish I have a full time job, merely torebut letters the local newspapers here publish;commentaries passing off as legitimate pieces ofrespectable journalism critiquing the pitfalls ofdemocracies or democracies in transition.
These commentaries (TODAY, to date, has publishedarticles written by businessmen, that tries to coverit up as journalism) tend to ridicule democracies orhighlight its pitfalls.
While a single article may not create much fanfare orchange perception, it nevertheless becomes sinisterwhen seen as a whole what the paper is trying to do;mainly knocking down the many facets and notions ofdemocracy. The compounding effect is to create a falseillusion that Singapore is on the right path; and thatwe have to resist “blindly” following countries which pursue a liberal style of democracy since it is“chaotic”. The “freedom” of which democracy offerswill bring more harm than good for the uniquely“Singapore” system, that has been tried, tested andperceived as “effective and efficient”.
In the latest opinion piece, TODAY Deputy News Editor,Teo Hwee Nak distorts the perception of freedom of thesacred vote by pinpointing what is wrong with thecurrent election in America. She draws uponsuperficial analysis by portraying the presidential campaign as a playground similar to a media circustainted by name-calling and “triviality”.
This is however, to be expected in a country wherefree and fair elections are expected. Teo focuses herattention on the undecided voter; and concludes thatthey are more than likely to be more confused afterthe campaigning because of the pricky Iraq situationthat has drawn the nation apart; and the mediamessages which tends to focus on trivial issues.
In attacking the news on Bush’s previous militaryservice in Texas Air National Guard as a tacticaldiversions, it is simplistic to deduce that suchattacks and counter-attacks confuses.
The wide-ranging, plurality and freedom of the mediain America allows the average person to read widely onthe issues the candidates has chosen to speak on and derive their own understanding and choices. They can read from political blogs, main newspapers, parties’news releases e.t.c., which often provides morein-depth information about the candidates and theirstand. These sources of information helps bring tolight the quality of the candidate, confronts andclarifies problems and helps the average undecided person be aware of who they are voting for and what here presents.
In the case of the “flipflopper” advertisement, it isnaive to think that the average undecided voter will affect his or her vote after seeing it. Advertisements normally only work on certain levels and only at selected target demographics. As such,they can attract attention, but to change perceptionsor vote is another matter.
Teo seems to believe that the sacred freedom to voteis being compromised in this election as the realissues are clouded and in her words; the campaigning,reveals more “superficiality than substance”.
Unfortunately, she has completely missed the mark, not only by misreading the electoral campaigning strategies, tactics and messages that has beenemployed; but also undermine the importance of thefreedom to vote.
She has forgotten that it is the freedom to vote thatcan prevent authoritarian or dictatorial regimes fromcreating strife and abusing human rights. It is also this freedom that gives the people the power to removeanyone from office if they abuse their position orpower.
Divisive politics to the fore - US voters grope in the dark as real issues get lost in a maze of political triviality
Wednesday September 29, 2004
Teo Hwee Nakin the United States
hweenak@newstoday.com.sg
FOR A country that takes pride in its democraticprecepts — which it zealously tries to impart andexport to "lesser" nations — the most bizarre thingshave happened to hijack its presidential elections.The United States is at a crossroads — facing whatcould be one of its most important presidentialelections.
The country is on alert against terrorists, anunpredictable enemy that has no desire to play by anyrules. A complex war is being fought in Iraq, with noobvious exit signs in sight. The US has alienated manyof its key allies with its unilateral decision onIraq. And, the world's biggest economic power isincreasingly feeling the heat from rising lower-costeconomies in Asia and elsewhere.
However, instead of uniting as a nation against thesechallenges, it is an extremely divisive America thatwe see, with the presidential candidates — with fouryears of power at stake — perhaps contributing most tothe divisiveness.
The biggest culprit is, perhaps, Iraq.
The question of how the US is going to get out of theIraq quagmire is not an easy one to answer. Thesituation is delicate and complex and there are notthat many options. Yet, it is on this question thatmany voters' decision is hinged.
And President George W Bush and Democratic rivalSenator John Kerry have to articulate theirdifferences on an issue in which there isn't much roomfor mano-euvring. The result? Irresponsible statementsand charges that, in the end, may do the country moreharm than good.
This intense divisiveness puts the US in an vulnerableposition that provides opportunities for its enemiesto take advantage of. With voters watching the Iraqsituation closely, both camps are under pressure toadopt a populist strategy that may not necessarily bethe best.
Sadly, terrorism has been used as an emotive andpowerful political weapon to strike terror amongAmericans. Over the weekend, a Bush advocacy grouplaunched an advertisement attacking Mr Kerry's abilityto protect America.
The clip shows pictures of Osama bin Laden, 911hijacker Mohamed Atta, Russian hostage-takers, theMadrid bombers and the World Trade Centre. It says:"John Kerry has a 30-year record of supporting cuts indefence and intelligence and endlessly changingpositions on Iraq. Would you trust Kerry against thefanatic killers? "President Bush didn't start this war, but he will finish it."
The ad, swiftly slammed by the Kerry camp as"despicable politics", comes weeks afterVice-President Dick Cheney's warning that Mr Kerry, ifelected, might put the country in danger of anotherterrorist attack.
The campaign has seen several terror alerts by thegovernment being criticised as political diversions.Whether the accusations are true, they certainly havethe effect of undermining bona fide alerts. The effectof all this is that Americans don't know whom to trustanymore.
And while no one remembers the plans the candidateshave on Iraq, or their policies to address issues suchas national security, healthcare costs and jobs, someperipheral issues have grabbed their attention.
For example, for the most part of his campaign, MrKerry and the rest of America were obsessed with theVietnam war, which should belong to history books. TheKerry camp told voters about his Vietnam War braveryand spent millions on ads with scenes coming straightout of the war movies. This, while a war is beingfought in Iraq.
Another distraction came in the form of Mr Dan Rather,the CBS anchor of 60 Minutes II, who had Americanslapping up a story that used documents to demonstratethat Mr Bush had failed to perform some of his dutiesand had been given preferential treatment while in theTexas Air National Guard in the early 1970s. Thedocuments were later found to be fake and both thenetwork and the Kerry camp had to fend off accusationsof inappropriate conduct.
To give another perspective of how trivial thecampaign can get, an ad aired last week — again fromthe ingenious Bush camp — sought to reinforce the"flipflopper" label that the Republicans have given MrKerry.
Showing the senator windsurfing, his sail boardtwisting back and forth in the winds, the ad startedoff by asking: "In which direction would John Kerrylead?"
The windsurfing footage continues playing. And thenthe conclusion: "John Kerry. Whichever way the windblows."
After all the months of campaigning and millions ofmoney spent on campaign costs, if I were an undecidedvoter looking for answers, I might not have found myanswers, come Nov 2.
As I talked to political activists and analysts, Icould not help but observe the irony that the politicsthat is born out of the democracy the country speaksso proudly of is, in reality, an entangled mess thatsometimes reveals more superficiality than substance.
Many agree. But, they always add, their system isstill the best. For them, it is the sacred freedom tovote that counts.
Deputy News Editor Teo Hwee Nak is on a two-week USElections Reporting Tour for Asian journalistsorganised by the US State Department.
