Column:

Campaigns are negative, but voters can make difference

By Dieter Kurtenbach

Published Oct. 20, 2008

As the last days of the election season are crossed out on the calendar, it seems that all the campaigns, no matter how large or small, have turned so far to the negative that they might just forget about who they're trying to attract to their candidate.

Ed Robb and Chris Kelly have been going at it in 30-second, one-sided televised debates, and Blaine Luetkemeyer and Judy Baker have been going at it on the boob tube, too. Hell, I saw an ad promoting Brad Lager for state treasurer during college football (we don't have to talk about that) last weekend. And, though it might be bizarre that the person who wants to control your tax money thinks it prudent to buy airtime to put on a flashy - and oh, it was flashy - campaign commercial, it shows a movement in politics that is dated and out of touch.

But the most out-of-touch and self-incriminating advertisements are from the national standpoint. If I were to put the campaigns in a nutshell, John McCain and President George Bush enjoy long walks on the beach and voting together, and the world will implode if Barack Obama takes office.

The best part about the ads in this presidential campaign is that each one becomes more and more ridiculous, false and frankly stupid as time goes on. Most of these are coming from the McCain campaign and its supporters. And, though I will state that Obama's campaign is not as straight as an arrow, it is 100 percent fair to say that McCain's arrow is so bent that it's actually reversed 180 degrees and is pointing at himself.

But, apparently, that's what politics is all about. In a world of information at your fingertips whenever you want it, and non-partisan fact-checking organizations and campaign e-mail lists keeping you informed with all of the latest news and notes, the negative political campaign should be dead, especially because it's been shown time and time again that it only hurts the candidate it purportedly supports.

Anyone with access to a computer and boots to trudge through crap would find that the Bill Ayers connection is insignificant at best. Yet John McCain sounded like a broken record at the debate last week, bringing it up again and again, even after Obama answered his question directly and, in my opinion, decisively. If you're an undecided voter, which at this point is perplexing, how would you find anything you like in either of these candidates? It seems they haven't discussed anything substantial in months.

If you are sick and tired of the presidential campaigns' negativity and you don't know who to vote for, or you need some convincing or reassurance that your candidate is right for you, votehelp.org could actually explain where the candidates stand compared to your views.

It seems too common today that people can't express their own views in comparison to the candidate whom they support. That's not being an informed citizen, and that is being derelict to your most important duty as an American: being informed and voting. Votehelp.org is an actual test of your own values and the values of the candidates, according to their votes and their own words. And when the issues are laid out in front of you in a cut-and-dry, non-biased fashion, most of the time you find out something about yourself. Novel idea. Right? So though the negative attacks might get you down, remember that there is still some form of democracy out there, waiting for you to find it.