The Presidential Charade

I wish that supporters that fill the halls when a candidate speaks would shut up. All the signs, the phony yelling, and the trumped up applause generated by the prompts and cue cards of handlers in the audience is an attempt to convince the TV audience that the candidate is popular and an orator of grand style, when in fact these speeches are filled with crafted and clichéd aphorisms that would not generate such adoration, applause and cheering without the cues and prompts. McCain does it, Obama does it and Clinton does it. It only fools the especially inattentive. It is meant to convey an impression to fool the people watching. When you watch these candidates make these speeches remember: They are talking to a friendly audience of hand-picked supporters who are all coached to make lots of noise, applaud often and wave signs in a show of support that is nothing but stagecraft designed to fool you. These techniques, which include audience motivators, electronic cue signs and other devices, are used throughout the television industry for live and recorded shows to create the impression the producers want to achieve. In the case of candidates the desired effect is to convince you to vote for them. When you finally get into that voting booth don't vote on the loudest applause, the most beautiful signs, or the crafted words of professional writers, or they will have fooled you again.