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Yes, hope is the only campaign issue that really matters. To be human
is to hope. Infants cry, hoping for nourishment or attention. Children drop
continuous not so subtle hints, hoping it will result in a desired gift.
Teenagers walk into middle school hoping their insecurities and imperfections
will go unnoticed. Of course, the tendency toward hope does not disappear when

one reaches voting age. The politicians know it.
You don't have to look further than today's news to see how politicians
use hope to manipulate the electorate. Democrat Barak Obama's presidential
campaign has captured the national imagination with his treatise for "CHANGE"
outlined in his book entitled, "The Audacity of Hope". In 1992, controversial
candidate Bill Clinton positioned himself as "The Man from Hope", referring to
his alleged birthplace of Hope, Arkansas. It worked. Republicans are not above
employing the hope card, but they seem to be a bit more discerning in presenting
it. Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign included a commercial with the
tag-line, "It's morning again in America". Actually titled, "Prouder Stronger Better", the ad painted an overtly positive portrait of Reagan's first term. Beautifully produced, it tapped into the cautious optimism (hope) of the country.
It worked very well. Reagan won in a landslide.
What makes politics so interesting is that different party's play to
different hopes, hoping to gain or hold power. Democrats generally advance hopes that further government solutions to improve the social environment. Republicans, for the most part, support policies that create a social environment hoping to promote individual solutions. What gets confusing is when Republicans, hoping to attract Democratic votes,adopt Democratic programs, and Democrats, hoping
not to seem too liberal, try to sound like Republicans. The result is
politicians hoping to placate all constituents, end up dashing the hopes of
most constituents. It's at this point that the freedom fixated Libertarian Party
can look rather attractive. Their entire platform is based solely on the hope that everyone, particularly the government, would just leave them alone.
The hope based nature of American political campaigns will always be with
us. But hope is not a campaign issue, it's an emotion. Ballots based on the hope
issue alone are often cast by voters with no clear understanding of policies,
economics, history, reverence for country, or personal responsibility, hence,
hope votes are based on almost any ad, speech, or sound bite that sounds hopeful.
So a hope issue vote often works against the best interests of the nation.
After all, any average used car salesman can inspire hope. If this all
sounds confusing that's because it is confusing. The politicians know that to.

Learn more about this author, Mike Kershner.
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