It bugs the heck out of me that a candidate who emphasizes "character" and "country first" tries to feed his country such obvious lies. If he constantly twists the truth about past events (which anyone can double-check and thus prove his statements false), how can we believe anything he says about what he would do as a president???
I was also struck by the fact that the McCain camp welcomes controversy because media criticism fires up their base (regardless of whether the criticism is warranted). It reminds me of something I once heard about conservatives and liberals, which I've consistently found to be true.
A study of consv/lib media preferences found that liberals and moderates are usually open to hearing a variety of viewpoints, while most conservatives only want to hear perspectives that reinforce what they already think. Perhaps that is because many consv.s equate their political views with their religious beliefs, so they feel that discussing any alternative is a step toward apostasy.
I think there is also a big difference in mindset - liberals assume change will be a positive thing, while conservatives assume that change will probably be a bad thing. They either want to preserve the comfortable status quo or get back to the good old days.
Whatever the reasons behind conservatives' behavior, I'm tired of hearing them assume that anyone who disagrees with them is obviously wicked or stupid. Or both. None of them would presume to say they're perfect, but most have no qualms about assuming they are always right. Or at least that the other guy is always wrong.
I really couldn't agree more. We were just discussing this today at lunch. Our discussion emphasized on how conservative pundits thrive on controversy and saying outlandish things that might not even be true (and by might I mean....)while more liberal pundits seem to be more human in the way they communicate.
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It bugs the heck out of me that a candidate who emphasizes "character" and "country first" tries to feed his country such obvious lies. If he constantly twists the truth about past events (which anyone can double-check and thus prove his statements false), how can we believe anything he says about what he would do as a president???
I was also struck by the fact that the McCain camp welcomes controversy because media criticism fires up their base (regardless of whether the criticism is warranted). It reminds me of something I once heard about conservatives and liberals, which I've consistently found to be true.
A study of consv/lib media preferences found that liberals and moderates are usually open to hearing a variety of viewpoints, while most conservatives only want to hear perspectives that reinforce what they already think. Perhaps that is because many consv.s equate their political views with their religious beliefs, so they feel that discussing any alternative is a step toward apostasy.
I think there is also a big difference in mindset - liberals assume change will be a positive thing, while conservatives assume that change will probably be a bad thing. They either want to preserve the comfortable status quo or get back to the good old days.
Whatever the reasons behind conservatives' behavior, I'm tired of hearing them assume that anyone who disagrees with them is obviously wicked or stupid. Or both. None of them would presume to say they're perfect, but most have no qualms about assuming they are always right. Or at least that the other guy is always wrong.
P.S. How did two BYU graduates with a die-hard conservative dad manage to stray so far from the "right" side? :)
I really couldn't agree more. We were just discussing this today at lunch. Our discussion emphasized on how conservative pundits thrive on controversy and saying outlandish things that might not even be true (and by might I mean....)while more liberal pundits seem to be more human in the way they communicate.
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