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 promises is challenging, as they lack the power to make decisions. While election advertisements may feature grand and unrealistic pledges, few voters dismiss them as nonsense. Instead, they view them as goals rather than literal commitments.

The media reports on election promises fairly neutrally before an election, rarely questioning them in advance. Even after the fact, the media seldom holds politicians to account for their pledges, with only a few exceptions. When George H. W. Bush ran for the U.S. presidency in 1988, he famously declared, "Read my lips: No more taxes." It is believed that many Republicans voted for him based on this promise. As is often the case in politics, Bush could not keep his word. The Democrats controlled Congress, forcing him into a compromise that resulted in tax increases. The media and his opponents never let him forget this broken promise, which is thought to have contributed to his defeat to Bill Clinton in the next election. In contrast, today's political climate in the United States is quite different, as much of the public and media seem remarkably indifferent to President Donald Trump's failure to uphold his campaign promises.

Social norms surrounding promise-keeping can be a headache for politicians. Perhaps this is why election pledges are often rather vague: "I will do my best" or "I support this cause." A candidate must promise enough to capture voters' interest but not so much that it leads to inevitable disappointment. Whether a candidate makes a vague or specific promise, it must be credible. Marketers have long understood that if an offer sounds too good to be true, people will not believe it. Mark Joyner illustrates the power of incredible offers with an example. An American marketing expert, Mike Enlow, once placed a newspaper advert stating: "I will give you a thousand dollars for every dollar you give me." Sounds like a scam, doesn't it? Not one person responded to the advert, which was precisely the point—because the offer seemed utterly unbelievable.

That said, incredible election promises can have excellent entertainment value. I looked up a few and found some amusing examples. For instance, the American politician Vermin Supreme once promised a pony for every voter. This bizarre pledge was a central theme of his campaign. Apparently, it was satire aimed at drawing attention to the exaggerated and empty promises often made by politicians.

Sometimes, an election promise is so modest that it becomes humorous for that very reason. In 1980, many voters questioned whether Ronald Reagan, then 69 years old, was too old to be president. Reagan addressed these concerns humorously, pledging to remain awake, alert, and aware throughout his presidency. This was an effective strategy, and he won the election.

It would be wonderful if we had a politicians like Alan Caruba. The American politician Alan Caruba (1937–2015) promised to eliminate boredom. He proposed that workplaces should have mandatory dance breaks to liven up the workday. Additionally, he pledged that state-funded amusement parks in every city would make American life more exciting. Caruba's campaign focused on increasing joy, and his unconventional approach attracted supporters tired of typical political rhetoric. Even more radical was Indian politician AM Sheik Dawood, who promised voters 10 liters of brandy "for medicinal use" each month if he were elected. If implemented, such a promise could have caused quite a stir in society.

Despite the challenges associated with election promises, I still hope candidates continue making them. A promise conveys optimism about the possibility of change and improvement. On this point, I agree with the philosopher Susan Neiman. She argues that pessimism is a form of intellectual laziness. While optimism may seem naïve, and pessimism may appear courageous and realistic—almost macho, even—the truth is that pessimism is cowardly. If one believes that things can only get worse and that nothing can be done, one is, in effect, excusing oneself from any responsibility to act. Conversely, if one believes that things can improve and that action can make a difference, one becomes responsible for taking that action.

References

The article about Bush’s election promise is taken from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_my_lips:_no_new_taxes

According to Mark Joyner’s book The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less, the American marketer Mike Enlow placed such an advertisement in a newspaper.

Supreme’s, Reagan’s, and Caruba’s promises are discussed here: https://listverse.com/2023/10/29/10-strangest-political-campaign-promises-made-by-candidates/

AM Sheik Dawood’s pledge is mentioned here: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/bizarre-and-weird-poll-promises-made-by-candidates-across-the-world/weird-poll-promises/slideshow/68761887.cms

Neiman, Susan (2010): Susan Neiman on Morality in the 21st Century, Philosophy Bites Podcast, hosted by David Edmonds & Nigel Warburton, 27 March 2010.