Matthew Nisbet
Professor of Communication at Northeastern University.
nisbetmc
Posts by this author
September 3, 2008
Psychology buffs are probably familiar with the Implicit Association Test. In laboratory experiments testing for racial prejudice, subjects are timed in their matching of positive and negative words with either white or black faces. In these tests, whites overwhelmingly react more positively to…
September 2, 2008
That's the take in this recent profile at New York magazine. The far left blogosphere first stung Lieberman when his 2004 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination fell flat but then really turned him towards the GOP following his 2006 Senate primary race. In Lieberman's view, powerful…
September 2, 2008
When I first heard that McCain had chosen Sarah Palin to be his running partner, I expected there to be a revolt from the intellectual wing of the GOP party, the same thinkers who rebelled against Bush's choice of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. Yet as it turns out people like David Brooks and…
September 2, 2008
Palin has put support for creationism among GOP leaders on the media and public agenda. Everywhere in the news, GOP officials are being asked their position on the matter and in their replies they are sending the strongest of signals to a partisan public that support for creationism is part of the…
September 2, 2008
The McCain choice of Sarah Palin has made creationism a topic that various GOP spokespeople are now being asked by the press to weigh in on. From the interviews, an emerging talking point appears to be that "it's a local decision." On Sunday, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was asked by Tom Brokaw…
September 1, 2008
Similar to Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal was heralded by conservatives as offering the belief credentials to be Vice President.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was interviewed by the Sunday NY Times magazine. In yesterday's edition, here's what he said about his support for teaching creationism in…
August 29, 2008
From an interview this month with NewsMax:
What is your take on global warming and how is it affecting our country?
A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.
August 29, 2008
In running for Governor of Alaska in 2006, GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin said she supported teaching alternatives to evolution. When asked during an election debate, she said:
"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools…
August 29, 2008
When you pick as a VP candidate someone who is inexperienced and unfamiliar with national politics, you don't know what you are going to get. Above, a look back at Dan Quayle's VP announcement speech in 1988 and then subsequent campaign gaffes.
August 28, 2008
Gore endorsing Obama for the Democratic nomination during the primary campaign.
Standing on stage before a national TV audience at Mile High Stadium, Al Gore was a symbolic reminder of what could have been. He also delivered perhaps the best negative narrative about McCain of the convention. "I…
August 27, 2008
If this National Review report is true, the GOP platform calls for making illegal all forms of embryonic stem cell research, even privately financed research. Definitely a story to watch.
UPDATE: Still can't find the full text of the platform but here is what the Washington Post reports: "In one…
August 27, 2008
There's an anti-Obama documentary in release and don't underestimate its potential impact. McCain needs something to intensify his base and research shows that political documentaries--whether Fahrenheit 9/11 or Inconvenient Truth--are fairly good at mobilizing supporters and the already committed…
August 27, 2008
President Bush observing the disaster in New Orleans from Air Force One.
For a campaign that appears to be making all the right moves, Mother Nature might be the one variable that the McCain team can't control. As New Orleans prepares to evacuate three years to the day that Hurricane Katrina hit,…
August 27, 2008
The people running John McCain's campaign know what they are doing. By linking their advertising strategy to the news narrative, they continue to successfully counter-punch against an anemic Democratic convention message. The McCain team opened the week with an ad featuring a former Hillary backer…
August 26, 2008
Adweek asked the creative directors at some of the country's largest advertising agencies to create their own mock up print ads for either McCain or Obama. Read and see what they came up with.
August 26, 2008
"Well, if this party has a message it has done a hell of a job of hiding it tonight I promise you that," James Carville said on CNN Monday night (see ABC's The Note). "I look at this and I am about to jump out of my chair."
What Carville was referring to was the absence of a negative narrative…
August 25, 2008
A McCain ad released today features a former Clinton delegate telling fellow Hillary supporters that she plans to vote for John McCain and it's okay for them to do so too.
Strategically, the TV spot looks to break what communication researchers call the "spiral of silence" phenomena, the tendency…
August 24, 2008
"New Evangelical" Joel Hunter (blue shirt) works with church members on a recycling campaign.
Evangelical leader Joel C. Hunter, a registered Republican, will give the closing prayer at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, joining Al Gore and nominee Barack Obama on stage in front of 70,…
August 22, 2008
Scientists are the most trusted spokespeople in America. Surveys show that they are the most admired profession and among institutions, only the military scores higher in terms of public confidence. Not only are scientists trusted authorities, the public strongly associates science with social…
August 22, 2008
That's the plan here in the nation's capital. From today's Washington Post:
Beginning in October, 3,000 students at 14 middle schools will be eligible to earn up to 50 points per month and be paid $2 per point for attending class regularly and on time, turning in homework, displaying manners and…
August 22, 2008
Is McCain's "House" Gaffe Similar to George Bush's 1992 "Scanner" Moment?
In his first major negative ad of the campaign, Obama is defining McCain as out of touch with Americans' economic woes. Obama is seizing on McCain's gaffe yesterday when he stumbled over a question about how many homes he…
August 20, 2008
Rewind 1992: Bush's public approval shifted as the public turned its attention from war to the economy.
As tensions with a newly aggressive Russia escalate, the return of America's Cold War enemy heavily favors McCain's election chances. Here's the reason: The issues that are most salient in voters…
August 20, 2008
In a recent survey, Gallup asked respondents whether they believed in God; believed in a universal spirit or higher power; or don't believe in either. Not surprisingly, "God disbelief" is highest among Americans living on the West coast with a strong proportion (29%) preferring instead belief in…
August 19, 2008
At the end of July, I predicted that the Edwards affair might turn out to be the dominant news story for August. It turns out I was wrong, but very close, and it was only a very strategic and effective crisis communication effort on the part of Edwards that helped stave off a media tsunami.
Still…
August 19, 2008
One image of Gore: A partisan activist and leader.
CNN reports this afternoon that Al Gore will have a major speaking slot at the Democratic convention, joining Obama on stage the last night of the convention in front of a stadium crowd of 70,000.
I am a big fan of Al Gore and often think about how…
August 19, 2008
From The Scientist's Newsblog:
In an industry known for backing Republicans, Sen. Barack Obama has emerged as a surprising pharma favorite in the US presidential election.
In April, Obama won a mock election at the annual DTC national meeting, a drug advertising conference, with a 53% to 46%…
August 19, 2008
Will Joe Biden get the VP nod from Obama?
Obama is expected to announce his VP choice in the next 24 to 36 hours and the selection won't be unveiled by way of the usual media leak followed by a press conference. Instead, in a sign of Obama's new model of campaigning, the digitally networked…
August 18, 2008
Roughly 60% of Independents say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported easing restrictions on off-shore drilling, according to a recent Gallup survey (figure above). But the survey also shows that there's an even stronger positive response when Americans are asked about…
August 18, 2008
My brother Drew and cousin Jeff fishing Lady Evelyn Lake in Northern Ontario. A magical place with glassy smooth waters full of Walleye, Northern Pike, and Small Mouth Bass.
August 18, 2008
The Metcalfe Institute at the University of Rhode Island has announced its 2008 Grantham Prize winners for environmental reporting. The series "Choking on Growth" by The NY Times on China and its problems with environmental sustainability takes first prize. Details below the fold. For DC readers,…