“Born to Run” for Office
President Barack Obama began his final day of campaigning for reelection in Columbus with one lavish introduction. Forget balloons, fireworks, or confetti–it was Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z that opened the show. In the Electoral College, Ohio is a crucial state for a candidate to win. A swing state, Ohio can be won by either party in the election, as opposed to a state like Maryland, who is traditionally liberal. As a result, the Republican and Democratic party nominees spend heavy amounts of time campaigning there once they receive the nomination. This time around, Obama seems to be getting creative with his efforts to win over the Buckeye State.
Using pop culture to appeal to an “older” generation with “The Boss” and a “younger” one with Jay-Z, Obama has more likely than not won over many voters last minute. However, this approach has drawn criticism from political analysts. I would agree that it seems a tad superficial that a part of Obama’s constituency may be attracted not by his stances on political issues, but by his performers.
This phenomena is closely related to our discussion on how social networks influence our choices. Let’s pretend I decide to go out to dinner one night. Before choosing my restaurant, I read an online review that raves about Restaurant A. However, when I arrive at Restaurant A, it is empty. Right next door is Restaurant B, which is thriving with people. Do I pick Restaurant A based on it’s positive review, or Restaurant B based on its popularity? Restaurant B must be tasty, or it wouldn’t have so many guests, right? To or to not follow the crowd?
My problem described above is a metaphor for Obama’s Ohio campaign. Let’s say that I am an Ohio citizen, and, before voting, I read something I really like about Romney’s platform, and decide to go vote for him. When I arrive at my polling center, I see that my favorite musician has endorsed Obama. Should I go with the “review” or the “crowd”?
Finally, our setup is a basic example of Information Based Imitation. In this, there are four ingredients:
1) Some decision to be made
2) People make the decision sequentially over time
3) Each person has some private information
4) People can see the earlier actions of others but not their thoughts
Examples of these ingredients in our dilemma are:
1) Who to vote for in the election
2) People are voting all day on election day
3) Exit Polls are conducted, however are not completely accurate
4) It is well known which celebrities vote for who, but their motives and reasons for doing so are sometimes unclear. We can use exit polls to see who is winning a certain state, however we do not know the motives of that state’s voters.
As a whole, Obama’s use of Springsteen and Jay-Z seems to be an intelligent political move. Both artists have constituencies of their own, who are likely to follow the “crowd”. Hopefully, those who vote for whichever candidate have read a “review” which they are inspired by. I like to believe that the American political system is fired by passionate enthusiasts of relevant issues, as opposed to the adoration of an admired notable. After all, I was “Born in the USA”.
http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Springsteen-Jay-Z-put-the-pop-in-Obama-rally-4009591.php
-Biz