Elections and Decision-Making
Elections involve decision-making on a variety of levels. Candidates are required to continually make decisions (whether to run, when to announce, what policies to support or oppose, how much time to spend in various locations, etc.) Voters are also required to make decisions (who to support or oppose, which political party to stand with, who to vote for, whether to vote, whether to give money or time to a candidate, etc.)
Making Your Decision Who To Vote For
So how will you make your decision about how to select a candidate to vote for in the upcoming presidential election? Based upon the issues? Based upon the candidate's personality and leadership qualities? What about on the candidate's personal characteristics? How much with the candidate's choice of a vice presidential nominee affect your decision?
Decide Better! America has created a downloadable worksheet that is designed to help you make the best decision about which candidate to vote for.
(Decide Better! America also has created a similar downloadable worksheet that was designed for both the Democratic and Republican primaries. If you would like to access this file, we have archived it for your use. )
Selecting an Vice Presidential Running Mate
Choosing a Vice Presidential running mate is the most important decision made by any Presidential candidate in their entire campaign. This year, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, who have recently made their decisions regarding their running mates, have made a choice that is seen by the American public as a representation of how well they make decisions. Prior to the time each candidate made his decision, Decide Better! put together a memo providing advice to each campaign and their VP search committees about how to approach making this important and complex decision in the best possible manner and for the benefit of their campaigns and the American people. You can find a copy of the memo in PDF format by
Now that each candidate has made his decision, how did they rate in terms of their decision-making abilities? Michael McGrath, decision-making expert and founder of Decide Better! (and a political independent) has graded each candidate on their decision process. He has assigned a grade of "B+" to the decision by Senator Barack Obama to select fellow Senator Joseph Biden (DE) as his running mate, and he has assigned a grade of "C-" to the decision by Senator John McCain to select Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. You can see more about the logic behind the grading by
The American Electoral Process and Decision-Making
While there are so many decisions that need to be made by candidates, voters, the press, elections officials and others, all of these decisions are made within the confines of the electoral process that is used to make the group decision on who will win the election. Is the presidential election process in the United States a good example of a decision-making system?
about the American presidential election process as it relates to decision-making. (You must be signed in to view this article. If you are not registered, it is free and quick to do so. Click here to register.)
Candidates on the Issues
How do the candidates stand on the issues that matter most to you? Do you know? You can find out by
