Is there even such a thing as a "sympathy vote"?

[InvisibleTouch]

For all the screaming of the right-wing nuts about John & Elizabeth Edwards, I have to wonder if they're not, as usual, fabricating an excuse to go into hysterics. Has there ever been an example of a "sympathy vote"? When a candidate lost or nearly lost a close family member, and won an election as a result? I can't think of any such instance, but then I'm not that up on past history. Maybe someone else can fill me in.

[mediaman007]

1. How nice...the right-wing nuts are worried that Edwards will get

sympathy votes in ...the Democratic primaries!

[InvisibleTouch]

2. That's certainly what it sounds like...

...if you can make any sense of their spin at all. I'm just saying it's not even an issue, because I don't think it happens. People vote for those they agree with, not those they "feel sorry for."

Admittedly I'm impressed with how the Edwards are handling this, and I have a lot of respect for how they're going forward and living their beliefs, and I already liked them a lot - but I'm still planning to vote Kucinich in the primaries.

[mediaman007]

3. Way to early for me...

I think that the end of August is plenty of time to make a decision and help out a candidate. Right now I'm just willing to listen to all of them.

[juajen]

4. Actually, many people claim that Kathleen Blanco

won the Governorship in LA because of a tearful speech regarding the recent untimely death of her college-age son. He was fatally injured while working a part time job to pay for college. Of course, he didn't have to work to do that (his father is VP of the college) but the family is strong on "family values.

The Blancos are good people, and their pain was so obvious that it brought people closer to her and helped her to win, so they say. I was voting for her anyway. I'm sorry that so many people are scapegoating her for a situation she could neither control nor help, considering the way this state was treated by the Bush administration.

[skipos]

5. No. nt