What Impression of the Candidates Can We Draw from their Supporters?

So... I've noticed something a bit disquieting about this presidential election... Okay, so that's an understatement... I've noticed a few things that have been unnerving. This, however, isn't something the politicians themselves have done (or not done, for that matter).

It's the way politically-active people are expressing themselves in response to the candidates - and the fact that there is no way to regulate the way civilians express their political beliefs, no matter how false or downright disrespectful they are.

Every 4 years, those of us who love politics are given a huge fix of what we need via the presidential election. Unfortunately, this also serves as bait for the loonies to come out of the woodwork. I'm obviously not a quiet, respectful political supporter, and I'm certainly not claiming that by any means. Sure I spend a lot of time writing a blog in which most of my posts are criticizing McCain - but I have no idea if anyone is even reading it, and that isn't the point of my writing anyway. Even though I'm vocal about my beliefs, I am adamant about getting my facts straight before giving any kind of opinion - which I think is SO important.

You can imagine how troubling it is, then, when I get some of the most ridiculous anti-Obama email forwards full of typos and false information - that people are seriously considering gospel! Some of the things I've read have been absolutely over-the-top and it really really scares me that some people are actually believing these things and basing their votes accordingly!

Email, the internet, and essentially all forms of mass, rapid-communication have created a climate for this election that was unprecedented. So many more people have access to the internet and computers than they did only 4 years ago, and this has created some good and some bad effects. People have a much easier time staying informed and can get information the second it's published. We can check on polls, predictions, statements, or whatever our little hearts desire with the click of a mouse. But of course, this also means lies, propaganda, false attacks, and hatred can spread like wildfire.

I've spent a bit of time at PolitiFact's "Chain E-Mails" website, which currently (as of 10/14) contains fact-checking data and information for 39 chain emails; of those, 2 were true, 5 were mostly true, 2 were half true, 3 were barely true, 16 were false, and 11 were "Pants On Fire" (their rank for absurdly false). Out of the 16 false emails, 11 of them attacked Barack Obama, 5 attacked Hillary Clinton (1 attacked both of them), and 1 was a false positive email about John McCain. Out of the 11 Pants On Fire emails, 10 of them attacked Obama and the other attacked Hillary Clinton. As for the varying levels of true emails, none of the true emails are about Obama, 3 of the mostly true emails attack Obama (1 is in regard to him replacing the American flag on his plane with his campaign logo and the other 2 aren't about him directly, but about his church and the ties it has to Africa), 1 of the half-true emails targets Michelle Obama (stating her goal in life is to put the black community "first and foremost"), and 2 of the barely true emails attack both Obama and Hillary Clinton (the other attacks solely Clinton). How many of these attack emails directly target McCain? Zero, of course! To be fair, 1 half-true email targeted Sarah Palin's attempts to have books removed from the Wasilla library (there was no formal request made by Palin, but she did begin dialogues on multiple occasions with the librarian in which she asked about the book-banning process), and 1 of the Pants On Fire emails was the alleged list of books Sarah Palin wanted to have banned.

Some of the outrageous false claims against Barack Obama include his (non-existent) involvement in the Islamic religion, his refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance, that his church only allows African American individuals to join, that he is the coming of the anti-Christ, and that he was sworn into the Senate on a Koran rather than the Bible.

It's kind of interesting when you juxtapose the amount of false information spread about each candidate. Based on the numbers alone, it seems to me that there are a lot more angry and dishonest people out there who dislike Obama than there are who dislike McCain... And it seems to me that if people dislike one it's usually because they support the other...

Another interesting comparison is the behavior exhibited by supporters of each candidate at their respective rallies. Recently at a McCain rally, his supported actually booed him when he called Obama a "decent man." At one point, he gave the microphone to a woman who wanted to ask him some questions - she explained that she didn't trust Obama because he is an Arab. An Arab?! John McCain immediately took the microphone away from her and told her that he wasn't an Arab, and then he moved on to the next question. Conversely, during the recent Biden rally in Scranton, PA, it was mentioned that McCain was a war hero and that he did wonderful things for our country. And the audience agreed with polite applause.

Interesting, yet again.

I won't lie to you - I certainly mock certain aspects of John McCain's character and judgment. Many of my friends love to joke about his age, which is one of the more popular jabs at McCain. We like to point out that he left his disfigured wife of many years for the young, rich, Cindy Hensley. Of course, there's always the constant similarities we seem to discover between him and George W. Bush. But his age is a number; his divorce and remarriage are documented record; and his voting similarities to Bush are also a matter of public record. I'm sure there are some untrue anti-McCain hate-mails circulating the internet somewhere, but for some reason they aren't as widespread or publicized as those against Obama - perhaps because the emails against Obama are just so asinine, they'd be hard to top.

The tone of the anti-Obama sentiments are (generally) extremely angry, ferocious, and extreme. Accusing somebody of being an America-hating, secret Islam who is the ANTI-CHRIST is absolutely hateful. Shouting anti-Obama remarks in the middle of McCain's statements about his decency is hateful. Suggesting Obama is a thief who takes one's dignity is hateful. The Republican rallies are a breeding ground for hatred - Slate Magazine published an article that takes a look at the extremism displayed at such rallies. They focused on the phenomenon from a sociological/social psychological standpoint and asserted the theory that a person who is outspoken, loud, and more opinionated on a topic is often perceived as more passionate about it. They also look at the theory that like-minded people tend to feed off of each other and polarize to the extremes when they're in a group. The loudest, most opinionated person who exhibits the most hatred toward Barack Obama is perceived as the biggest McCain supporter (according to fellow McCain supporters), essentially.

I wonder if I will ever live to see the day when hatred isn't a sign of passionate support for the opposition, when ignorant people don't have more power over the perception of candidates than the candidates do themselves, and when people will start to use their brains rather than let themselves be manipulated.