Ear-tickling

The Wall Street Journal's Alexandra Alter recently reported the latest in political consulting trends, which entails hooking subjects to devices that monitor brain function, skin temperature, and eye-blinking, in order to better determine what messages and images appeal to people. The consultants interviewed, who work for a variety of presidential candidates, labored to imply that they simply want better predictive information. "We need a tricky way," explained a political scientist with the National Election Studies, "to get into people's minds and find out who they're going to vote for instead of asking directly."

It doesn't take much imagination, however, to see that politicians are throwing considerable dollars at this technology for more than just an edge at predicting voter behavior. They want to see what phrasings and postures are most likely to sway voters. One for-profit firm admits as much; as Alter reports: "The company . . . says it could help candidates vet advertisements or hone their language and delivery in speeches."

This is not a new trend, which took off at a gallop under Clinton, with the use of devices that allowed subjects to indicate their approval or disapproval during each second of a speech, in effect creating an EKG, of sorts, for the speech. Consultants could then isolate which phrases appealed to subjects, and then be sure to sprinkle them more liberally in future speeches. Any unappealing phrases could be excised. This is now a commonplace tactic among well-financed campaigns. Rather than strive to determine and implement what is best, politicians can instead focus on saying what sounds best, regardless of what they intend once in office.

As our elected officials become less inclined to speak directly, and more inclined toward pablum and posturing, this latest technological trend will accelerate what can fairly be described as a cancer in American politics. It is increasingly the case, it seems, that one can only win by saying as little of substance as possible, while working tirelessly to make one's opponents appear to be allied with the Devil. As American voters, in turn, read less each passing year, while consuming massive quantities of television, we have the makings of a perfect storm of ignorance, out of which stroll the blow-dried empty suits who pass for our political class.

And the thing is, I think we deserve them. Though Paul was warning against heresy, his admonition to Timothy certainly seems apt:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."

Sounds painfully familiar this election season.