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You got to lie to me, baby


 

As you watch the McCain campaign's late push to tie Barack Obama to William Ayers, and the Obama camp's response, and sundry attempts to say whether the charge is true or false, here's something to keep in mind: among conservatives, McCain and his surrogates may actually benefit from leveling charges that are promptly deemd false. From the October 8 New Republic:

Last February, political scientists Brendan Nyhan of Duke and Jason Reifler of Georgia State published the results of an experiment designed to test the effects of political untruths. The results would unsettle any idealist. The first conclusion they found was that lies work. When subjects were confronted with an untrue political claim (President Bush banned stem-cell research; weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq) respondents naturally moved toward those positions. When the lie was corrected, however, the effect of the untruth in moving opinions largely remained. The truth, in other words, is no antidote for a lie.

Their second conclusion was even more disturbing. Subjects who identified as politically conservative were not only immune to the effects of having a lie corrected, the correction made them even more likely to believe a lie. So, for instance, one group of conservative subjects was presented with a news story that depicted President Bush claiming weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. A second group of conservatives was presented with the same thing, along with a paragraph noting that Bush's statement was untrue. The second group was more likely than the first to believe that Iraq possessed WMDs. The very fact of the press challenging their beliefs seems to have made conservatives more likely to embrace them. If this finding is broadly correct, then the media's newfound willingness to fact-check McCain will only succeed in rallying the GOP base to his side.

Depressing/fascinating. Here's Nyhan's blog entry on the study in question.

  • Aaron Read said:

    The blog entry link at the end of the post is broken.

    And this doesn't surprise me at all.  What surprises me is the Democrats' stubborn refusal to accept, understand, and leverage this knowledge into winning more elections.

    October 7, 2008 11:16 AM
  • Adam Reilly said:

    Thanks, Aaron. I'll fix that asap.

    October 7, 2008 11:44 AM
  • lou said:

    Why is it a lie to say that he sat on boards with Ayers and didn't raise an objection?

    Why is it a lie to say he started his political life in Ayers living room?

    Why is it a lie to say this man lacked judgment?

    Same with his nutball pastor.

    October 7, 2008 3:07 PM
  • Adam Reilly said:

    By way of response, Lou, I attach Sarah Palin's description of Obama's relationship with Ayers and CNN's evaluation of that description.

    First, here's Palin:

    "Our opponent though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

    Note the argument: Obama is "palling around" with Ayers because he (Obama) sees America as terribly flawed.

    Now CNN:

    [Palin] referred to an article in Saturday's New York Times about Obama's relationship with Ayers, now 63. But that article concluded that "the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called 'somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.'"

    What Palin said, I'd argue, is a willful misrepresentation of the Obama-Ayers relationship--a/k/a a lie.

    October 7, 2008 4:26 PM
  • Lou said:

    Oh, puh-leese....

    He still hasn't spoken against Ayers...because he wants whatever politcal capital comes from that.  

    He allowed his fundraiser/politcal life kick off to be at Ayers house.

    I would say that's "palling around".

    Certainly not disavowing him.

    Obama saying that the only problem with this guy is something he did when Obama was 8 years old.

    THATS diliberate mischaraterization.

    October 7, 2008 8:56 PM
  • Lou said:

    Obama lies when he says he has nothing to do with this guy.  

    He administered an Anenberg grant with him.....and saw his living room as an apporpriate place to kick off his political career.

    Who's lying?

    October 7, 2008 8:58 PM
  • Adam said:

    Lou, I smell a strawman. Can you find me a quote where Obama says, as you put it, that "he has nothing to do with this guy"?

    As for "palling around," that suggests grabbing beers, taking road trips, watching football games, etc. At least to me.

    Note, too, that Palin's flat-out wrong about why Obama has associated with Ayers to begin with. It's because Ayers, despite his past, managed to become a player in Chicago--NOT because he fits Obama's viewed of America as deeply flawed.

    October 8, 2008 7:02 AM
  • BoobieBob said:

    > >Can you find me a quote where Obama says, as you put it, that "he has nothing to do with this guy"?<<

    I believe he has asked how is it relevant when these things happenned when he was 6 years old?

    He wasn't 6 years old when he sat on the board, he wasn't 6 years old when he was in his living room.

    >>As for "palling around," that suggests grabbing beers, taking road trips, watching football games, etc. At least to me.<<

    Or it suggests working for the same causes, (mis)administering an Anenberg grant together.  Having similar friends...using his living roomto launch his politcal career.  

    >>It's because Ayers, despite his past, managed to become a player in Chicago--NOT because he fits Obama's viewed of America as deeply flawed.<<

    A player who'll do anything, say anything, meet with anyone, work with anyone to get ahead?

    A "player" as a community organizer?

    October 8, 2008 8:53 PM

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