WASHINGTON -- Forget about the brain, target the heart.

Those emotional appeals can be key to winning presidentialelections, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent David Gregorysaid in his keynote address at NAFCU's Congressional Caucus.

While the issue positions of presidential candidates areimportant, voters often make their choice based on emotionalconsiderations.

"We want to get a sense of them. Voting is an emotionalprocess," he said. "When you interview somebody for a job, youdon't just look at their resume."

He recalled telling his father not to focus as much on thedetails of candidates' policy proposals because those will changeonce they get into office. Instead, focus on the character,decision-making skills and temperament of the candidate.

Gregory noted the concerns of many voters, especiallyindependents, about the level of experience of GOP vicepresidential nominee Sarah Palin.

"Are independent voters comfortable with Palin a heartbeat away?Are voters comfortable with having someone who has a steep learningcurve?" are some of the questions that have voters wondering.

He pointed out that presidential candidates Barack Obama andJohn McCain chose running mates to compensate for things thatvoters found lacking in them.

"Obama picked Biden to lend him credibility on foreign policy.McCain picked Palin to give him a fresh face and energize thebase," Gregory explained.

Gregory, who also hosts a nightly program on MSNBC, criticizedthe tendency among activists on both sides of the aisle to not givetheir opponents the benefit of the doubt.

"There is a tendency that when we don't know people, we demonizethem. We need to engage our leaders and hold them accountablewithout demonizing people because that gets in the way ofconstructive conversation," he said.

Gregory added that in light of the current economic situation,neither candidate has been able to craft a message that speaks tothe concerns of most Americans. He said whichever candidate can beas effective as then-Gov. Bill Clinton--whose advisers coined thephrase "It's the economy, stupid"--was in 1992 in addressingpeople's anxieties will win the election in November.

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