Sucking Up to Voters: A Guide for Candidates

The 2012 presidential election promises to be one of the closest ever – one of those rare cases where every vote really does count. That’s why Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are doing all they can pump up their go-to supporters while at the same time trying to peel off some of the other guy’s folks. (And why the GOP is trying to suppress the Democratic vote.) It’s not that Obama expects to win the white working class, or Romney to walk away with Latinos; but both men think they can chip away at the other’s lead  – which, in battleground states, might be all it takes to tip the balance.

All of which explains why, in this campaign, we’re seeing even more than the usual amount of pandering to the various “votes” – from women to young people to environmentalists and seniors – featuring selective amnesia about past positions (see: Romney on immigration; Obama on gay marriage), vague hints about goodies to come (see: Romney on tax cuts for the wealthy; Obama on immigration reform), and many a naked appeal to group self-interest.

But it can be hard for candidates to keep straight what they should – and shouldn’t – tell all these people. So we’ve put together a handy guide to help campaigns get the biggest payoff from their pandering. Click through to learn the art of the political suck-up, 2012-style.