Why was Bush's father, George H. W. Bush, defeated when he ran for re-election as president in 1992? How did the incumbent, who had enjoyed stellar approval ratings, fail to defeat Bill Clinton? Was he defeated because he went back on a promise to not raise taxes? Al Gore was vice president during the Clinton administration, a time when America thrived during an era of unprecedented economic growth. So why did Gore lose his shot at the presidency?

Voters, it would seem, are unpredictable. But is that really the case? Cultural anthropologist Clotaire Rapaille in his book "Culture Code" says it's not true. According to Rapaille, the Americans have made relatively consistent choices in leaders, selecting their presidents by how the candidates evoke connections with a network of important themes embedded in the American subconscious -- a "code" inscribed in their identities. For Americans, that code references the Biblical figure of Moses, a fabled leader who brought his people to freedom with inspired visions and personal tenacity.

With the mythology of America rooted in a rebellion by the colonies against their British rulers, it's natural that Americans would want a leader of rebels. That's why they give priority to courage and a strong instinct for survival over intelligence. Accordingly, a candidate with more robust characteristics will defeat an opponent who appears less so. If you try to understand how voters make their decisions according to the issues, you'll get only a seemingly irrational, illogical puzzle. The keys to voting behavior lie in our unconscious mind.

According to Rapaille, the French want a leader who can challenge the current political system with a bold, new ideology. That's why Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle were so well-loved. In contrast, the Canadians want a protector. From childhood, the Canadians value energy conservation because they have to endure severely cold winters. They prefer a leader who can maintain the status quo rather than a leader who will make changes.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a hopeful for the 2008 presidential election, once cited the importance of this code. He called for abandoning the old style of "horizontal politics" that divides people into left and right, Democrats and Republicans, progressives and conservatives. He suggested introducing a vertical style of politics in which people forget their differences and their leaders respond to them as a whole.

Horizontal politics makes people forever take sides, and presidential candidates forever fix their eyes on their opponents. Candidates end up devising their strategies to exaggerate their opponents' weak points and failures, a sort of "I-am-not-that-kind-of-man" strategy. This kind of competition makes it difficult to make clear distinctions between candidates, because voters are naturally forced to look at both "this candidate" and "that candidate" at the same time.

Businesses and politicians are similar in that they can survive only when they are embraced by the people. But businesses have for a long time understood the importance of unconscious choices. They market their products with images that remind people of ideas rooted deep in their hearts. An advertising expert said, "The ultimate victory for businesses in their competition with their rivals lies not in selling more products than their rivals, but in winning more love from consumers."

With the presidential election months away, the ruling and opposition camps are busy. The ruling party is bent on replacing their "signboard" with a new one. Presidential hopefuls from the opposition camp are preoccupied with differentiating their image from that of President Roh Moo-hyun. The political and ideological issues will, no matter how much noise is made about them, probably make little difference when it comes time to vote. We need only consider how Time, the weekly news magazine that focuses on issues, is outsold by People, which focuses on personalities. People are more important than the times or issues.

So what is the code that is hidden in the Korean people's hearts? The key to success may lie in deciphering it. As Kevin Roberts, the CEO of the Saatchi & Saatchi global advertisement group, said, "Think like a fish if you want to catch a fish." The rival anglers sitting beside you will never teach you what bait they're using to catch the people's hearts.