Filed Under Politics, U.S. Studies
Who Would You Vote For In A Blind Taste Test?
Tip o’ the hat to Villager for pointing me to this nifty little online test from ABC News that is designed to determine whether you identify politically more with Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain. It’s set up so that you are given two statements, one by each of the candidates and you choose which one you agree with the most. Of course, you don’t know which candidate said what. It’s a blind taste test!
I found it interesting for two reasons. One, for many of the statements, I couldn’t discern that much difference. It almost seemed like a toss up to me. Two (and this is definitely related and informed by the first), for me, it often came down not to which I agree with more, but which do I disagree with less. In other words, it’s often exactly like asking me to choose between Coke or Pepsi. I don’t, for instance, agree in the slightest with either of these statements, which are a part of the quiz:
I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I also agree with most Americans…that decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been.
Um, yeah. I personally believe that marriage is between any two people that want to get married, so I’m lost on that one. And there’s that State’s Rights bit. You will excuse me if I’m a tad bit wary of that argument.
I do not believe gay marriage should be legal…but I do believe that people ought to be able to enter into contracts, exchange powers of attorney, other ways that people [who] have relationships can enter into.
Um, what? So, If you believe that people should be able to “enter into contracts that people [who] have relationships can enter into,” then why is that contract called marriage off limits? And, um, are you really saying that gay folks don’t have relationships? They shouldn’t be able to marry each other, but should still be treated like those normal het folks who have relationships?
WTF? I can only choose on which statement comes off less hypocritical.
Y’see? Hard for a brotha to pick a statement that he agrees with more here. I’d prefer to call bullshit on all sides, but alas, I had to choose to get my results, and when it was all over, it seems that I disagree with Obama less than I disagree with McCain. But, is that really a surprise to anyone?
Here’s what really freaked me out about this quiz, though: out of all the statements provided, the one proffered by McCain that I agreed/disagreed less with was on Health Care. I gotta say, that scares me a bit. I need to figure out what the hell I’m thinking.
Regardless, check out the test. Did it make you think more about who you support this election and why?
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Ugh. Thanks for posting that; it was an interesting exercise. Along with the marriage question, as you mentioned (McCain’s response has that yummy “word salad” quality to it, as an added bonus!), I very much had that “just hold your nose and pick one” sensation while answering the (first of the) immigration question(s) (I’ve already forgotten whether that was one question or two). Both candidates made noise about securing the borders, which I found disconcerting.
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hey Kevin, this OT but I was wondering where you got the translation widget? I wanted to add one to my new blog per a request that came in today on the old site.
thanks much!
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I’m in the same position as you, but that’s understandable, being European and used to more “liberal” (or leftist) politicians. I took the test out of curiosity, and everything sounded as if Obama’s statement was a clearer, more succint version of McCain’s.
@Liz: yeah, the immigration statements gave me pause as well. But I’ve always held that Obama is a centrist and no where near the progressive that people want to make him out to be, both on the left and the right. So, I guess I’m really not that surprised.
@Nia: Maybe it’s just age creeping up on me, but I’ve reconciled myself with the fact that I won’t see the type of liberal or progressive politician running for President that I would like to see in my lifetime here in the States. Or, at least not one that is electable. I prefer Obama to McCain, most certainly, but I’m not the kind of person to pretend that people are who they aren’t. I guess it’s easier for me to feel this way because I’m not a Democrat and I’m not invested in Democrats winning at all costs, even if I do despise most Republicans more. If any of that makes sense.
ProfBW: The plugin I use can be found here.
thanks Kevin. Looks like it is google translator . . . hmmm . . .
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[...] Who Would You Vote For In A Blind Taste Test? [...]
here is a link to a non-google translator FYI
http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/ultimate-website-translator
(this concludes my OT comment posts, I promise)
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