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Updated Tuesday, March 25, 2008 0:00 am TWN, By William C. Vocke, Jr., Ph.D., Special to The China Post

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U.S. polls and Taiwan’s nomination process

In addition, the incredible amount of money being raised and spent puts the process beyond all but the richest, best connected, or most charismatic. The money also makes the candidates increasingly reliant on special interests. Special interests not only engage actively in the candidates’ campaigns, but because of election finance laws, they also run independent advertising campaigns for their particular issues and in support of specific candidates. Money becomes power and its influence corrupts.

Finally, the influence of the mass media on the process has become pervasive and corrosive. The general media treats the primary process as a horse race. Favorites are handicapped, odds are offered and debated, the candidates’ teeth are figuratively examined, every nuanced electoral tactic is hotly discussed, announcers heatedly relate the current position of each candidate, and, unfortunately, the issues take a backseat.

Only in the initial contests of Iowa and New Hampshire do the candidates really meet and interact with local people on a personal basis. Only in small state do people get their issues intensively discussed. Campaigns in the big states cannot be conducted as retail politics, up close to the customer.

So the candidates become ever more dependent on big money to buy media ads and on polling and focused groups to determine messages.

The campaigns ultimately move from the front porch to the TV studio, an inevitable process in a country of 300+ million, but a process that the current system encourages. The process should be refocused on retail, personal interaction, but no easy solution presents itself.

The Taiwanese process of selecting candidates needs to be overhauled. More people and opinions need to influence the selection of candidates.

A small island with 23+ million people should be able to implement a system that achieves the democratic ideal without the American dysfunction. The American model is not a good alternative.

The second article in this analysis discusses the policies and candidates in the U.S. elections and the implications for Taiwan.

(This article was earlier posted on “Taiwan Perspective” of INPR as part of a longer piece.)

(To be continued)

Dr. William C. Vocke, Jr. was a former visiting professor at National Cheng Chi University’s Department of Diplomacy, and board member of the Fulbright Program in Taiwan and the American Chamber of Commerce.

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