True Campaign Reform

Is it just me, or could we do without the television ads for the presidential candidates? I enjoy politics and feel it is important to keep up with what is going on in the world, and television ads from political candidates are of no help in either instance. If there were to be true campaign reform, we should begin in this area first and foremost. An incredible amount of money is spent on advertising. And the ads that are ran are nothing but lies and half-truths. We never learn about a candidate's stance or idea on any given issue. Leadership can't be judged or determined by these ads. Nothing of any value can be gained by theses ads. Like most everything else on television, these ads are more about marketing and manipulation than they are about substance.

Go to FactCheck.org and see for yourself. It seems to be an unbiased site that exposes all of the "untruth" in these campaign ads. Then try not to be sick at your stomach.

It appears that the only thing that is truly non-partisan is dishonesty.

Did anyone see Katie Couric tie Joe Biden up in knots when asking about the McCain Internet/computer issue? What a joke! For starters, this was Katie Couric doing the knot-tying and we all know how vicious she can be. When I think of people that I would be afraid to give an interview to, Couric is right there behind Winnie the Pooh and just ahead of Charles Gibson. And this "tiger" had a VP candidate absolutely dumbfounded. What will Sarah Palin do to Biden? We may never know since she is being hidden like an ugly cousin. But she can hide behind some t.v. ads in the meantime.

Wouldn't the money spent on advertising be better used elsewhere? How about doing something truly beneficial with the money? Like candidates paying for their own security and letting the taxpayers off of the hook for that one. It would be $10 million well saved.

As citizens, we gain nothing from these ads and marketing ploys. We learn nothing on the candidates. We do learn that there is no such thing as negative publicity and that even the captain of the so-called "Straight-Talk Express" must resort to underhanded tactics to gain a leg up in the presidential race. There may be honor among thieves but there is none when dealing with political ads.

Wouldn't we benefit from more debates? More Civil Forums? Even a few more speeches from the stump? Let's do away with political advertising and force candidates to earn our respect and develop character without hiding behind an ad created by a twenty year old intern hoping to brown-nose their way up the political ranks. After all, who uses a doctor or a lawyer that has to advertise? Why should our future leaders be any different?

If we did do away with these ads, it may force the average voter to have to actually follow what is going on in the world and may cause citizens to have to dig a little to learn about policies and stances. That would cut into our leisure time though. And it is easier to let the television educate ourselves in a thirty second ad. We can learn all we need to know about issues that will affect our lives and our children's lives from a campaign ad, can't we?!!?

So again I take the unpopular stance that alot of the blame falls on us as citizens. We can point to Washington and blame bureaucracy, and be correct in doing so to a certain degree. But we can't take the stance that we are victims and helpless to do anything about it. We can take back America, but not from the couch and not by channel-surfing.