Sara Warzecka Columnist

Criteria for the American vote

On Friday, an assassin attempted to kill Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian by shooting him in the stomach. When Chen won Taiwan's third presidential election the next day, opponents initially chalked up the win to a pity vote and claimed the election should be nullified. They later claimed Chen faked the attack to win public sympathy. Certainly, Chen could have used his knowledge of public pity to gain a last-minute edge. However, all of this rests on the idea that the people will vote for a president out of pity and not based on political ideals. The idea that people would vote for any politician for anything other than his principles is simply appalling.

Unfortunately, the pity vote happens. Perhaps Chen really wouldn't have won if he hadn't undergone such a tremendous ordeal. But he doesn't deserve the presidency based on people's sympathy after a single incident (especially with accusations of election fraud).

In yet another form of apolitically based voting, researchers found that since the advent of the televised debate, the tallest candidate has won the majority of the time. That might spawn from the preconceived, and possibly subconscious, chauvinistic notion of male power and its connection to physical strength and domination. The tallest man may actually look more powerful to our simple minds, or maybe it's just a coincidence. Other ways of voting without needing to know anything about politics exist as well. Some people vote along party lines. They register Republican or Democrat and stay that way. Many people have never thought of registering as independent, Green or any other in a grand array of options. Or maybe it's younger people who haven't made up their minds and choose to vote for whomever their parents or friends tell them to. As ridiculous as it seems, it happens. I would call myself a victim of this conspiracy since my parents have voted Democrat since I was old enough to remember; however, I just don't think there's a drop of Republican blood in my veins. I'm sure there are many out there who have always voted with one party or another. As close-minded as many of us are, maybe it has less to do with the topic at hand and more with choosing sides.

With the fall election up and coming, I can't help but wonder · will John Kerry win because of his height? Will Ralph Nader win when people pity the man who has run so many times and never won? Will the same people who voted for Bush in the last election vote for him again just for the sake of continuity and mindless repetition?

None of this has anything to do with voting ÷ not who's been shot or is dying, not which party you normally vote for, not who is taller or looks better, not who is a better public speaker. Public speaking skills are important, but not as necessary as political ideology. In fact, let's do away with television during campaigning. Everything will be aired over the radio. I so decree that whoever has the sexiest voice will be the winner of this presidential election. No more male or female, Jew or Christian, black or white, tall or short.

If I understood that a candidate's platform was based on killing puppies, no amount of pity or specific party registration could ever make me vote for him, because I am against killing puppies. It's that simple because it's an issue I care about. Maybe there exists a candidate out there who stands for killing something you care about and you just don't know it.

The only way to prevent emotional or narrow-minded voting is to actually be informed. That doesn't just mean listening to the candidates' ambiguous remarks, but understanding what they really plan to do when and if they take office. Of course, not all citizens remain ignorant of the process, but it seems that the majority of Americans have turned a deaf ear to the issues at hand.

Staying informed means being interested. People need to start caring about these issues. People need to realize that this is about more than party politics, taxes, "under God" on money and in the pledge, and prayer in school. We're talking about the fate of our nation, nuclear disarmament, terrorist attacks, foreign wars, public schools, health care and the AIDS epidemic, pollution and global warming and the mass sale of Humvees. The international community faces new crises each day and it takes seriousness on all sides to survive, not just from leaders, but from average citizens as well.

Great citizens become well-informed voters and elect great leaders. Maybe that's why we haven't had any in a while.

Sara Warzecka remains open-minded enough to be completely unenthusiastic about Kerry even though he is a Democrat. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.