I read an article a few days ago on FR about O'Bama's use of hypnotic suggestion in his speeches. Apparently he holds his fingers the same way someone holds a pencil to emphasize his points. This is supposed to anchor O'Bama in someone's mind when they see fingers held that way. When you are standing over your ballot getting ready to vote, you will see your fingers the same way O'Bama holds his fingers when speaking to you and this sight will trigger O'Bama to come to your mind. I was a bit skeptical. (http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2109105/posts)no, instead they'll have to rely on the fact that these days (unless it's an absentee ballot) most people don't vote using a pencil. when i use my touchscreen on election day, my hand won't be in that magic obama mind control position.
I then noticed that O'Bama's signs when looked at from a distance, actually have a filled in circle next to his name. Each sign is establishing a visual picture of a filled in circle with pencil like shading. When you stand over your ballot, and see O'Bama's name with a circle next to it, the visual impressions of the signs will suggest to fill in the circle next to the name. In fact the red color in the circle of the sign is designed to attract the most attention to that part of the message, which in this case is the circle.We have a candidate that is using hypnotic suggestion on a mass basis. On reflection, I'm not sure we can rely on typical models of turnout or the Bradley effect.
there might, however, be circles on the ballot somewhere. we all know that once you see a circle, you can no longer resist voting for the candidate whose last name begins with a circle--even if the check box next to the name happens to be a square. it's those red flag stripes from the yard signs that make us do it. we simply cannot help ourselves. resistance is futile.
maybe in 2012 the republicans will learn their lesson and nominate sir oolius.
(via ray)
