Entertaining Election Promises
Many candidates make election promises in the run-up to elections. They pledge to influence various issues, accomplish great deeds, and change the world. Most of these promises are realistic, but sometimes candidates make funny pledges designed more for entertainment than serious political commitment. Either way, election promises are a key part of a candidate's campaign. Despite this, some candidates declare they will not make any promises. Such caution is unnecessary, as voters have a reasonably good grasp of how to interpret election promises. Very few take them as literal commitments. Many voters understand that candidates are not always able to keep their promises. Fulfilling precise pledges is difficult because politics is mainly about complex compromises. Even a representative from a majority party does not make decisions alone. Nor does the party itself. First, compromises must be reached within the party and then with political allies. For an opposition party, keeping prom...
