138 PART TwO • THE POlITICS OF AMERICAn dEMOCRACy
Bias
An inclination or a
preference that interferes
with impartial judgment.American businessman Herman Cain, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and
former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum each had their day in the sun. All of these
candidacies proved to be flawed in one way or another, however, and in the end Romney
prevailed without great difficulty.Obama versus Romney. The 2012 general election debates in October were also impor-
tant. During 2012, Obama’s team tried to present Romney as a rich financier who cared
only for the interests of other wealthy Americans. Through September, this characteriza-
tion appeared to be damaging Romney’s campaign. In the first of three debates, however,
Romney was successful in presenting himself as compassionate, reasonable, and, above
all, moderate. Obama, meanwhile, seemed to be half asleep. Obama did much better in
the next two debates. Romney’s performance in the first debate tightened up the elections
for a time, but by Election Day the effects had largely worn off.Political Campaigns and the Internet
Today, the campaign staff of almost every candidate running for a significant political
office includes an Internet campaign strategist—a professional hired to create and main-
tain the campaign Web site, social media accounts, blogs, and podcasts. The work of this
strategist includes designing a user-friendly and attractive Web site for the candidate and
tracking campaign contributions made through the site. The strategist also manages the
candidate’s e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook communications. Finally, this staffer hires blog-
gers to promote the candidate’s agenda on the Web and monitors Web sites for favorable
or unfavorable comments or video clips about the candidate.
Additionally, major interest groups in the United States use the Internet to promote
their causes. Prior to elections, various groups engage in issue advocacy from their Web
sites. At little or no cost, they can promote positions taken by favored candidates and
solicit contributions.bias in the Media
For decades, the contention that the mainstream media have a liberal bias has been
repeated time and again. A number of studies appear to back up this claim. For example,
research at the University of Connecticut has shown that journalists consider themselves
Democrats three times as often as they identify with the Republicans. A recent Gallup poll
reports that 47 percent of the public thinks that the news media are too liberal, while 13
percent see the media as too conservative. These views are strongly associated with the
politics of the respondent: 75 percent of Republicans believe the media are too liberal,
while only 20 percent of Democrats think that is true.Alternative Forms of bias. Some writers have argued that the mainstream media are
really biased in favor of stories that involve conflict and drama—the better to attract view-
ers. Still others contend the media are biased against “losers,” and when a candidate
falls behind in a race, his or her press quickly becomes negative. The Republican primary
campaigns in 2011 and 2012 provided many opportunities for candidates to complain
about such bias, as one candidate after another shot up in the polls, only to be rejected by
opinion poll respondents a month or two later.bias and Professionalism. While many journalists may be Democrats at heart, most
operate under a code of professional ethics that dictates “objectivity” and a commitment
to the truth. Journalists may not always succeed in living up to such a code, but it helps
that it exists.Copyright 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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