Politics involves, among other aspects, the use of communication to reconcile differences, persuade fellow citizens, and reach decisions about governing or social order.
[3] News media may encourage or contribute to political posturing or grandstanding by presenting politicians' speeches or other performances to their constituents.
The speeches broadcast include what the study authors call "persuasive advertising campaigns to win the production contract from [politicians'] constituencies.
This can also involve public shaming, abandonment of nuance and context, and a mob mentality of trumped-up charges and excessive outrage.
[6] In representative political systems, elected leaders may be pressured to take highly visible action in order to appeal to voters or influence public opinion in their favor.
Such political posturing may have short-term positive value for individual politicians, but negative consequences for the society in the medium- or long term.
A more recent example of the use of this phrase by popular media in a Wall Street Journal article on the Supreme Court nomination hearing of Justice Sonia Sotomayor.