Shades of Campaign Truth
At the beginning of this presidential campaign season, I was heartened that the Democratic and Republican nominees promised to focus on the issues and put an end to corrosive negative campaigning. As the electoral season has run its course, however, it is clear that whatever our candidates mean by "change" does not include staying out of the gutter.</br></br>It is not my job to constantly research the assertions in your ads to figure out whether the information is true, a distortion of the facts or simply a lie calculated to produce a political advantage. The American public needs less hysteria and an end to "gotcha" campaigning, and we need more considered debate as we approach what may well be the most important election in the past 25 years.</br></br>With the economic crisis threatening our freedom, with job losses and home foreclosures rising, with millions of Americans unable to secure medical insurance and millions choosing between filling their gas tanks to get to work and feeding their children, we need you to refocus your campaigns on the things that matter to Americans. We are not trying to find out who is better at political spinning or which campaign can elevate "gotcha" politics to the highest level. You may not be above that, but the American people are.</br></br>What a pity that neither Sen. John McCain nor Sen. Barack Obama has had the wit to stick strictly to the facts without exaggerations, stretches or shadings, while, to be sure, responding swiftly (pun intended) and forcefully to any lies by his opponent. It may sound hopelessly naive to suggest that a presidential candidate deal only in the unvarnished truth. In fact, any such candidate would quickly become a national hero.</br></br>Kevin Merida's Sept. 23 Style article, "His Kind of Town," on Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Scranton, Pa., carried the subtitle "Scranton Loves Biden, but Can It Warm to Obama?" In fact, Mr. Biden is not necessarily the saintly figure up there that one would assume he is after reading the article.