ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 gives a brief history of the events and candidate-related incidents leading up to the campaign and then presents bar graphs showing the proportions of voters who had various likes and dislikes of the candidates–the images of the candidates in voters' minds as measured with open-ended questions. These attitudes toward candidates are a major factor in voters' decisions. Most political analysts do not have this information when giving their interpretations of why elections turned out the way they did.
Since data from open-ended questions has not been used in the past, many of the findings of this study are contrary to previous interpretations. Some of my findings are: the ideological orientation of the candidates is seldom mentioned. Presidents who significantly lowered taxes were not praised for it, and Mondale was not hurt very much because he called for increasing taxes to balance the budget. Candidates' stand on abortion was seldom mentioned. Many of the issues that were widely discussed in the media drew no comment.
The criteria that voters use in evaluating candidate are: clear stands on issues, honesty and sincerity, record in office, leadership abilities and decisiveness, character, and whether they are likable or not.
