Critical Reasoning

Some political observers believe that the only reason members of the state's largest union supported Senator Hughes in his recent re-election campaign was that the union's leaders must have been assured by Hughes that, if elected, he would stay out of their coming negotiations with the union's national leadership, whose members have been financial backers of several close associates of Hughes. More likely, the union's members believed that Hughes deserved to serve another term in office.

Which of the following best parallels the method of argument used by the author?

a. The popularity of Deap, a powerful carpet cleaning system that can be used by the homeowner is, some industry observers say, due to an agreement made by a leading professional carpet cleaning company to supply Deap with the chemicals that are sold as accessories. This does not, however, fully explain the sudden popularity of the product in the last three months.

b. After a rocky start, Shade, a new cosmetics line, is now selling briskly. The reason for the turnaround is almost certainly that Shade is now being marketed to women in their twenties, not just to teens. This has helped the product achieve a more sophisticated appeal, which has translated into greater sales in every age group.

c. The Shakelight, a small flashlight that can be powered for several minutes by a shaking motion, has once again proven a popular gift item this holiday season. Other similar devices are available, but none has been as successful, and the reason is simple: the cost of The Shakelight has fluctuated so that it has always been at least one dollar less than that of any competitor. The manufacturers' claim that they have a better product is nonsense.

d. The continued success of the Daddo line of toys is due to the simple appeal that these toys have for kids between three years of age and six. Others disagree. One industry journal ascribed the brand's popularity to a deal made with a major toy retailer guaranteeing that the retailer would carry the coming line of Daddo products exclusively for three months.

e. As with last year, this year's best selling foreign policy journal is World Opinion. It may be that the content in World Opinion is simply more exhaustive and better presented than that of similar publications, or it may be that the journal's publishers have the substantial support of their parent company, which has been a good friend to bookstores and other outlets.


OA:D


I got this question right, but I still want to have a look on the approach of other peoples.

Option D seems closest.
Main Argument : Some political observers believe --- union supported Senator for reason 1. More likely,the union's members believed that Hughes deserved it for reason 2.

D sounds similar.

Option D for me.
D seems to be in similar lines with the argument presented.
There are 2 different perspectives discussed in both the argument and the selected Option.

B and C dont even come close.
A can be eliminated because of "sudden popularity" has no mapping with the original stimulus.

I would go with D because it gives you 2 possible reasons for the success - simple appeal & the deal made with the retailer which is similar to - stay out of negotiations & believed that hughes deserved to win

COuld someone please explain why not E?

Could anyone from the experts provide an explanation here ?