Do Presidential Candidates Brainwash Themselves?

[jwoodie]

It just occurred to me that most presidential candidates spend over a year giving the same speeches every day, if not several times a day. This seems equivalent to psychological programming, which can lead to an inability to deal with problems in a rational manner. This is often evidenced by them quoting themselves ("As I have said...") rather than seriously considering all sides of an issue. Are we electing robots to decide our future?

 

[ScienceRocks]

Most people want someone that won't cut the shit out of things the vast majority likes. Not everyone including the candidate is going to agree with a kook on the far right..


But,,,I will say that I believe they will say what will get them the most votes...Not that they believe it. They sure as hell don't want to go in front of a bunch of moderates talking about slashing everything.

 

[jwoodie]

Most people want someone that won't cut the shit out of things the vast majority likes. Not everyone including the candidate is going to agree with a kook on the far right..


But,,,I will say that I believe they will say what will get them the most votes...Not that they believe it. They sure as hell don't want to go in front of a bunch of moderates talking about slashing everything.

Whoosh...

 

[Mac1958]

It just occurred to me that most presidential candidates spend over a year giving the same speeches every day, if not several times a day. This seems equivalent to psychological programming, which can lead to an inability to deal with problems in a rational manner. This is often evidenced by them quoting themselves ("As I have said...") rather than seriously considering all sides of an issue. Are we electing robots to decide our future?

Sure, but it's not restricted to presidential candidates. This is something that partisans of all stripes do to themselves all the time.

Read a book on the subconscious. To make a long story short, we can essentially program ourselves to believe some pretty wild stuff. The two keys are repetition and intellectual isolation, two things that are common to political partisans.

The subject is fascinating to me, because it explains a question I've always had: Do partisan ideologues actually believe the stuff they say? I now think it's entirely possible that, in many cases, they really do. The subconscious has essentially been trained to minimize and/or ignore and/or distort all information that is contrary to the fundamental belief system. Therefore, the partisan ideology to which these people adhere themselves becomes "the truth".

Perceptions literally become distorted at a subconscious level. Therefore, it's entirely possible that they're being honest within their reality.

Fascinating stuff.
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[DGS49]

I can't even imagine having to speak to dozens of different groups, saying basically the same things over and over, for a couple years in a presidential campaign.

But honestly, they obviously have people around them who are constantly testing the waters to see peoples' reactions to the speeches, incorporating new material according to the latest news, and stating their positions in the way that gets the most favorable responses.

Each of them has to believe that there is something about their approach that is different from everyone else, and if they can effectively communicate that approach to The People, they will be elected President. I don't see where any brainwashing might come into it.