Political ideology has been used very effectively throughout history but it is slowly losing the power it once had. With more information from more places available it is harder to control the flow of information.
There are of course exceptions to everything. For example the war on terrorism which appealed to people's fear. Many people were terrified to the point where they were willing to give up certain freedoms in exchange for a false sense of security. Political correctness has made far too many people oversensitive to real and imagined slights. People have lost their sense of humor and don't seem to remember how to laugh at themselves or how to take a joke.
While one candidate might try to manipulate people a certain way there are counterbalances. The opposing candidate and the news media. It is becoming more and more difficult for a candidate to misrepresent themselves and their opponents. It is not unusual for leaders of different groups to try to bring their voters to a candidate as a block of support. More and more members are showing independence from that type of influence.
Trying to manipulate behavior doesn't really work as well as some people would like. If a person is a nonsmoker they will agree with the nonsmoking advocates and commercials. Many people who smoke will simply tune them out.
We all know obesity is a large problem and losing weight and eating healthy is a large industry. It never ceases to amaze me how many products carry sugar as a main ingredient. People will many times ignore the healthy eating suggestions and just go for the yummy fat filled dishes instead.
For decades oil has been a big issue. People have known that sooner or later reliance on oil will become an extremely expense resource. That has not stopped people from getting SUV's that have approximately 15 miles to the gallon. Nor has this encouraged politicians to play a far more active role in encouraging development and usage of other fuel sources.
In order to be really effective at manipulation the ideology must be presented in a way that is difficult to dismiss. With so many ways the information can be challenged and contradictions and mistakes exposed this can be difficult. While there will always be people who, for different reasons, wish to be spoon fed information and told what to think, most people are savvy enough to take things with a grain of salt.
