Thursday, September 23, 2010

Candidates use others to boost or deflate image

Rod Blagojevich, Karl Rove, Barack Obama and former U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller have something in common this election season.

Each of them is being cast as a bogeyman in a number of races throughout Illinois and the nation.

Chris Mooney, a political scientist at the University of Illinois-Springfield, said using bogeymen is a way for candidates to simplify the selection process for voters who aren't paying a lot of attention to the candidates' positions on issues.

"They want to make is easy for the voters," Mooney said.

Mooney's comments were featured in a September 23, 2010, article in the Bloomington Pantagraph.

Download a PDF of the article