Essayist: Politicians deserve protection from

Answer choices

1. A

   Supports6% picked this

   The press is unusually inaccurate when it reports on people’s

   This provides an independent reason to agree with the author's conclusion that the press should stop going after politician's private lives. After all, as this answer explains, they usually don't even report accurately when they target someone's private life.

   6%
2. B

   Supports2% picked this

   Reporting on politicians’ private lives distracts voters from more important issues

   This provides an independent reason to agree with the author's conclusion that the press should stop going after politician's private lives. After all, as this answer explains, by reporting on politicians' private lives, the press is distracting voters from considering the important issues in a campaign.

   2%
3. C

   Supports5% picked this

   Much writing on politicians’ private lives consists of rumors circulated by

   This provides an independent reason to agree with the author's conclusion that the press should stop going after politician's private lives. Like (A), this answer explains that the reporting on personal lives is of pretty low quality evidence -- much of it is based on rumors circulated by people who are motivated to disparage the character of the politician in question.

   5%
4. D

   Supports1% picked this

   In recent elections, the best local politicians have refused to run for national office because of the

   This increases the value of one of the author's premises. She had mentioned that the press's focus on private lives dissuades talented people from pursuing a career in politics. This amplifies that concern by citing a recent example in which the best politicians refused to run for a higher office, because of the press coverage.

   1%
5. E

   Correct87% picked this

   Politicians’ personality flaws often ultimately affect their performance on

   Why this is right

   This provides an independent reason to disagree with the author's conclusion that the press should stop going after politician's private lives and stop trying to catch them showing personality flaws. After all, as this answer explains, politicians' personality flaws are totally relevant to their job performance! So that's a reason that the press should be covering their personality.

   Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   87%