Those pesky campaign expectations -

[gateley]

Clinton and Giuliani benefiting from voters' negative preconceptions

By Chuck Todd
Political Director
NBC News


WASHINGTON - One of the more intriguing aspects to presidential campaigns is how much expectations play into how the media and the public perceive and eventually choose their presidents.

The media get criticized for playing the expectations game in politics. The most glaring example of this is probably the 1984 Iowa caucuses when Gary Hart was coronated as a media darling following his 32-point loss to Mondale.

Because Mondale didn't get over 50% in a neighboring state and because Hart finished a surprising second over supposedly more known rivals, Hart got all the attention from the media and turned that 32-point Iowa loss into a New Hampshire primary victory.

But judging a candidate basepd on expectations isn't something just reporters do, but voters do as well. Actually, if you think about your everyday life, you make judgments constantly based on whether a preconceived notion about someone (or some movie or some food) was true or not. "Frog legs aren't as gross as I thought" or "For all the buildup, that movie sure was a disappointment."

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More.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20994306/

[rinsd]

1. Interesting article, thanks for posting (nt)

[gateley]

2. You're so welcome. I found it interesting. too. nt