Re: Median Voter Theorem, Part Deux
fabio guillermo rojas wrote: If we really believed the MVT without qualification, every political campaign would consist solely of (a) polling to find the Median Voter's positions, In a multi-dimensional sample, you can find a median along each of the axes, but does the intersection stay put with a different choice of axes? I would guess not, and therefore the Median Voter cannot be meaningfully defined in an election (as opposed to a referendum). -- Anton Sherwood, http://www.ogre.nu/
Re: Cognitive dissonance
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I have a conservative Christian friend in Iowa who supports the laws > against drug use but will [admit?] that they violate our God-given right to liberty. He says he's just not emotionally prepared to abandon his support for drug prohibition. > That seems like a fairly clear cause of conscious cognitive dissonance. > David Levenstam It is not so clear to me. He has values of various priorities. Liberty is a value, but reducing drug use has a higher priority, so this overrides his value of liberty. It is very common to have ends that cannot all be satisfied, so one achieves the most valued end at the sacrifice of less valued ends. Another example: X values health, but at this moment, he smokes a cigarette because an interview is coming up and this helps calm his nerves. It is not a contradiction. At this moment, the higher priority is getting calm for the interview. Fred Foldvary = [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Median Voter Theorem, Part Deux
> - people spend an inordinate time satisfying extreme voters, even after > winning a party nomination > They're trying to put together a winning coalition by targeting a variety of market segments. You don't see General Motors or Altria/Philip Morris targeting just the "median car buyer" or "median cigarette smoker." ~Alypius PS--Fabio, this reply may not appear on the list. I think Bryan has been diverting my posts to some cyberfile 13. The last half dozen or so times I attempted to post, nothing ever appeared on the list, so I've pretty much given up trying. But I can still read everyone else's messages, so you can reply to me on the list if you wish to.
George Campbell/WLG/BNZ/NAG_AP is out of the office.
I will be out of the office from 18/10/2003 until 03/11/2003. . I will respond to your message when I return but if the matter is urgent please resend your email to one of the following: . Fx Position Keeping - Chris Lang, Asif Koya, Kepi Elisara Vostro Investigations - Kepi Elisara, Tina Fleet, Paul Kurmann Balance Control - Paul Kurmann, Freda Maurirere Nostro Reconciliations - Carolyn Dunn, Victor Romero Fx Investigations - Salo Taufale, Kepi Elisara EOD System Control - Evelyn Loo, Duane Luke Personal - [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
Median Voter Theorem, Part Deux
Why does campaign strategy or political leadership matter in the world of the Median Voter Theorem? If we really believed the MVT without qualification, every political campaign would consist solely of (a) polling to find the Median Voter's positions, (b) selecting a good looking candidate who can clearly communicate his position in the center of the policy space (c) spending all money on media and all remaining funds spent on collecting more money for media campaigns. Of couse, a lot of people would say this is an accurate description of the political process. But consider the following facts: - some candidates seem to do very well on personality alone (Ross Perot, John McCain) - few people completely bypass the party itself and just buy tons of media saying "I endorse the Median Voter position" - people spend an inordinate time satisfying extreme voters, even after winning a party nomination Ok, that's my rant today. Fabio
