Bob Sutton on an ’09 near-far paper: A traveler preparing to leave for a vacation to Cancun the following morning is more likely to process information about speedy check-in for international flights – a low-level, concrete piece of information that is related to the feasibility of the vacation, as opposed to information about the quality of sunsets on the East Coast of Mexico – a high-level, abstract piece of information that is related to the desirability of the vacation. …
I don't think politicians understand this, but there may be a demand to become more specific.
Politicians are as vague and abstract as possible because it's hard to break promises you haven't made. It's also hard for the opponent to criticize the details of a plan that hasn't been published. I remember politicians becoming more specific closer to elections, but only due to more demand for details rather than a strategy to become more concrete over time. Six months from the election you want to know the candidate wants to cut taxes, eliminate the debt, save social security, and save the whales. By election day you want to know whether the plan seems feasible, and, specifically, how it'll impact you.
I would expect plans to become more specific as the election draws closer, but it'll be interesting to see whether or not the details are produced as a result of a demand for details. I'm also curious about how long it'll take to produce those details - if offered right away you can assume the details were intentionally being withheld, but if promised for more than a week out they may have to create detailed plans once they saw the demand.
I don't think politicians understand this, but there may be a demand to become more specific.
Politicians are as vague and abstract as possible because it's hard to break promises you haven't made. It's also hard for the opponent to criticize the details of a plan that hasn't been published. I remember politicians becoming more specific closer to elections, but only due to more demand for details rather than a strategy to become more concrete over time. Six months from the election you want to know the candidate wants to cut taxes, eliminate the debt, save social security, and save the whales. By election day you want to know whether the plan seems feasible, and, specifically, how it'll impact you.
I would expect plans to become more specific as the election draws closer, but it'll be interesting to see whether or not the details are produced as a result of a demand for details. I'm also curious about how long it'll take to produce those details - if offered right away you can assume the details were intentionally being withheld, but if promised for more than a week out they may have to create detailed plans once they saw the demand.