Santorum vs. Casey Essays

Santorum vs. Casey Essays Santorum vs. Casey Essay Santorum vs. Casey Essay In the days before radio, television and the internet, political candidates were basically evaluated based upon their public opinions and their own political platforms.   Those days are gone.   Now, the campaign is played out in living rooms, available at the tap of a button or the click of the keys.   Such is the case with Pennsylvania senate race between Rick Santorum and Robert Casey. The first ingredient in the campaign is a vibrant cast of characters.   Rick Santorum fits the bill.   His use of name-calling strategies is unparalleled.   Democrats are Nazi’s; Terri Schiavo’s former husband is an executor; and had several choice insults for the Boston community regarding the evils of â€Å"academic, political, and cultural liberalism† (Casey vs. Santorum, 2005).   Although aggressive and grating, Santorum does have to share the spotlight with Robert Casey.   Even though he is far more widely liked, Casey has never really played in the big leagues of politics.   He has held such offices as auditor general and state treasurer but has never really been in same stratum as Santorum, who has never lost an election   (Casey vs. Santorum, 2005). Other than knowing that Santorum is a conservative religious Republican and Casey is not, most voters, even those in Pennsylvania, could tell you very little about their true issues (with the possible exception of Santorum’s loud anti-abortion stance.  Ã‚   Most voters see these candidates in terms of their public faces.   Santorum is bold; Casey is boring.   Perhaps the insight from the writers of The Salon is prophetic:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"For reasons including money, issues and the nature of the combatants, things arent what they seem from outside looking in† (Casey vs. Santorum, 2005). The reason for this lack of true knowledge, despite the voters’ adamant insistence that they do make decisions based on issues, is the impact of the media and the drive to make money.   According to a study reported by the Associated Press, â€Å"Voters tuning in to local television newscasts are more than four times as likely to see partisan political ads as campaign news stories†¦In all, twice as much airtime is being devoted to paid political ads†Ã‚   (Study†¦, 2002). While station managers fear political news will turn off viewers, they clearly understand that political ads draw viewers. The draw to marry the media to politics is also not new.   Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sonny Bono, and now Lynn Swann have proven that.   Instead of developing understandable and focused campaigns that the average American can understand and relate to, both Santorum and Casey will be dumping the majority of their fundraising efforts into radio and television ads, and into maintaining their own websites (Budoff, 2006).   Of course, they will be helped online by the thousands of websites and blogs created by ‘fans.’ The media has created the personas for both of these Pennsylvania Senate hopefuls.   Santorum is characterized as a Bible-thumping, insult hurling Republican who is entertaining to watch.   Casey, who has a few insults of his own, is less effusive but does draw viewers who like his soft-spoken appeal.   In the long run, the voting booth turns into the Nielson ratings, and the one who gets the office is the one who has had the most positive face time.   America will have to wait until November to see who gets the Emmy this time. References Burdoff, C. (2006).   Santorum, Casey: Its put-up time.   The Philadelphia Enquirer.   September 3. Available from:   philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/15430866.htm Casey vs. Santorum.   (2005). The Salon.   Available online from:   http://dir.salon.com/story /news/feature/2005/07/15/casey_santorum/index.html Study: TV Viewers Are Four Times As Likely to See Local Political Ads Than Campaign News Stories (2002).