Most optimistic candidates have edge

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Optimistic candidates inspire hope in the electorate and try harder, particularly when faced with challenges, U.S. researchers suggest.

University of Pennsylvania researchers analyzed the relative optimism of the 2008 presidential and vice presidential candidates and found Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, and John McCain, the Republican nominee, to be equally optimistic, while the GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is slightly more optimistic than Biden's running mate, Joe Biden.

The researchers at Pennsylvania State University's Positive Psychology Center analyzed speeches given at the Saddleback Forum on Faith and the candidates' respective convention acceptance speeches to determine levels of optimism. As a group, the vice-presidential candidates are less optimistic than the presidential candidates, with Biden by far the most pessimistic of the four, the study said.

In addition, GOP candidates show a higher level of internality when explaining positive events and a lower level of internality when explaining negative events. That is, they claim credit for good events and blame others for negative outcomes, lead analyst Stephen Schueller, a doctoral candidate, said.