Talking Hillary and Barack with an Expert...

Experts are often found at the Central Library and one in the area of government and the media was just recently in our midst.

Tuesday evening in the Central Library's Sacramento Room, CSUS Government Professor Kimberly Nalder, brought some needed focus to the the current runoff for the Democratic nomination for President and what it's told us about the state of women and minorities as political candidates.

How do these candidates portray themselves in accordance with how they think we want them to look? Nalder broached the idea that domestic issues like Healthcare and Education have - traditionally - been perceived to be the province of the female politician, whereas, males have long been viewed as more alligned to issues of foreign policy and the economy. Accordingly, Hillary Clinton's quest for validation as a civilian leader of the American military has prompted her to find advocacy from many of the nation's military leaders, as shown by Nalder in the following advertisement:



Also, how much of an effect has "response bias" had on polling results throughout the nomination process? In other words, are survey takers giving answers to reflect the way they feel society wants them answer? In the New Hampshire primary, Barack Obama's pre-vote polling numbers were quite favorable; however, by election evening, Hillary Clinton had won the state. The same happened to Clinton in the Iowa Caucuses.

These issues were discussed in detail. Keep your eyes peeled for Nalder. She may be moderating an upcoming debate between Sacramento mayoral candidates Heather Fargo and Kevin Johnson.