by Norman Halls, contributor
There has been no doubt that? what a candidate thinks he/she is saying is true. “Cognition can be defined as ‘the act or process of knowing’ in the broadest sense; specifically, an intellectual process by which knowledge is gained from perception or ideas”. William Huitt, Valdosta University. The perception that a candidate gives is a promise that he/she hopes to achieve if elected. But, the candidate must have all the facts before even making a statement. After someone is elected, the promises are abandoned because the candidate realizes that they cannot be fulfilled. The promises can’t be fulfilled, because collages do not support the change. Every candidate should have the support of his/her party. A candidate that makes exaggerated promises could lose votes. But, when a candidate makes these broad statements, he/she could find some gullible supporters. When the candidate says something over and over, the person may think it’s true. But, when you fact-check, it’s just not true or just the opposite.
There have been candidates who deliberately promise voters, knowing or not knowing that promise can’t be fulfilled. They do this to sway votes. They find areas where citizens are in need and do not know where to turn. In many cases, the media picks on what this candidate says and helps with misinformation. Recently, a journalist was interviewing a group from a steel town as to their thoughts on why the steel company shut down. They really didn’t have the answer as to why and who closed the plant. They would of course like the steel company back. They believe that their candidate will bring back the industry. Time will tell. This is a typical area where a candidate can come in and “hornswoggle” voters. “Positive words and thoughts can influence us in positive way and negative words and thoughts can influence us negatively.” Vijai P. Sharma Ph.D. – Mind Publication. Some people think that a candidate can fix everything and don’t understand why they can’t.
When we have a candidate that bullies his/her way, why is it supported? When a candidate has berates his/her opponent as a bad person or a lawbreaker, but can’t give any facts as to why -why do some support the perspective? Many voters believe what is said. Many times a candidate will resort to name-calling the challengers. This behavior can take us back to childhood. A child can try to impress school mates with being good in sports, shenanigans and not acknowledging any mistakes. Getting into fights and not acknowledging that he/she was in the fight. Blaming others for his/her problems, and being headstrong, taunting others and demanded attention. “Getting away with a lie can also be dangerous because it fools liars into believing they’re invincible and that they have little chance of getting caught. Before you know it, lying can become a habit, forcing liars to spend precious time and energy keeping their stories straight. Once others learn about the lies, some people may forgive, but they surely won’t forget.” Frank Sonnenberg – A Promise Is a Promise.
When a candidate runs for an office, local, state or federal, you would think he/she has an understanding of how it works. “Americans sometimes have a problem with government regulations. We can all probably identify at least a few regulations that seem particularly wrongheaded or burdensome, and we would certainly support changing or eliminating them.” Douglas Amy – Government is Good. You would think that a candidate would discover what the present economy is and who our friends are world wide. America has just gone through a recovery that is an all-time high. Unemployment is below 5% and wages are real. Can the economy be better, yes! But, some candidates would rather tear down what we have and substitute with an unknown.
When a candidate believes in conspiracy theories wherein he/she claims, without evidence, there were 3 million fraudulent votes and in the same breath, having lost to women by 2.5 million votes, proclaims that he/she won the election in a landslide…. is he/she the person that stays up to the daily constraints of the position? The candidate, win or loose, must except accept the outcome. The person must change their behavior by letting go the petty things and concentrate on a positive success for the country. If the person doesn’t change his/her behavior, they will fail badly.
If you are running for the highest office, you better have a good understand what it entails. From my perspective, it’s not a half day or an eight hour a day job. The presidents’ job is almost a 24/7 position. He/she would put in 14 hours each day to complete the necessary tasks. With the information processing capacity of vibrant infrastructure, the presidency takes someone who has the capacity to govern – not the promises that were made as a candidate. When we hire a person, we must have a good understanding if the candidate has what the position needs.
