How much thought do you put into voting?

Newsweek has an interesting article about how much of a voter's decision is based on emotions instead of rational thought processes. Voters will often support candidates with little knowledge of their positions on the issues.

They will tout how long a candidate has served in office. Yet they are unable to articulate what that candidate has done while in office in the past.

Many voters will insist that a candidate offers a fresh perspective. You could pick a name at random out of the phone book and get a fresh perspective from that person. "Fresh perspective" is a code phrase for lack of experience, as in "Since none of the Democratic candidates have any medical training, they all offer a fresh perspective on health care."