PrepTest 153, Section 2, Question 8
Analyst: When Johnson attacked his opponent by quoting(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AIn criticizing an(16 more words not shown)
- BIn criticizing an(17 more words not shown)
- CIn criticizing an(24 more words not shown)
- DIn criticizing an(23 more words not shown)
- EIn criticizing an(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe the short clip is just easier to use.
Suppose including the full context takes thirty minutes, while the isolated line takes ten seconds. A campaign might think the longer version is more damaging but keep using the short version because it fits into an advertisement. Having opportunities to give the context does not, by itself, eliminate that possibility.
What we’re looking for
The analyst nevertheless treats the campaign's behavior as evidence against what its staff claim to believe. My first reaction is, “That doesn't prove they're lying.” For the strengthening principle, we need a better connection between the attack they keep choosing and the claim the analyst makes about them.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This may initially look like a statement about campaign strategy rather than dishonesty. Go back to the exact conclusion: the staff do not believe that the quote is more damaging in context. That is a claim about their belief, and A connects their belief to their choice of attack.
Suppose they really believed the full context was more damaging. Under A's rule, they would pursue that more damaging attack. But they repeatedly choose the out-of-context version despite opportunities to give the context. Their choices therefore support the analyst's conclusion that they do not hold the belief they profess.
This also addresses our convenience objection. A says campaigns choose the attack they believe will do the most damage; it does not let convenience explain choosing what they believe is the less damaging attack. We are not proving that the quoted statement is false or that the campaign knows it is false. We are testing what the campaign believes about the relative damage of the two presentations.
- B
We are not told how Johnson's campaign would feel if an opponent used the same technique against Johnson. Even if campaigns follow this rule about techniques they find objectionable, it does not connect using a short quote with believing that the full context would be less damaging.
- C
Voters' expectations do not establish what the campaign believes. Voters could expect quotations to be presented in context while a campaign ignored that expectation. C supplies a public standard, not the missing link between this campaign's choices and beliefs.
- D
Avoiding strong criticism might be a reason to use a particular attack, but D does not say which version the campaign believes would hurt the opponent more. Whether the opponent really said the quoted words is different from whether adding the context makes those words more damaging.
- E
This gives campaigns a reason to avoid attacks that could backfire. But we have no information showing which version would expose Johnson to an effective counterattack. The rule therefore does not explain why repeatedly choosing one version shows that the staff disbelieve their claim about the other.
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