Political advertisements today.

[Professor Dan K.]

I realize how corrupt the world of politics is every day during the elections. Every thing is messed up, we never hear the truth.. just badmouthing. it really bugs me every time a campaign commercial comes on i hear the same old bull shit.

<insert republican/democrat here> has voted to increase taxes for the poor and decrease taxes for the rich. They wanted to give jobs to people overseas and take away social security for old people.

<insert democrat/republican here> Has voted to cut taxes and increase funding for schools and blah blah blah there a fucking saint...

if you came to our country and wanted to actually vote and have it count you wouldnt know what to do. you hear one thing on tv then 5 minutes later the exact opposite.

i used to laugh everytime one would come on because they were so stupid, but im gonna be 18 next year and i might want to take this stuff into account if i decide to vote. people are basically voting for their party. i think this whole party system is a bad thing anyway, because thats all some people take into account

its not about whos the better person or whos more honorable... its all one big popularity contest. and it really pisses me off sometimes.

[RedLocks]

about two months ago i was extremely disturbed by political advertisements in Florida, was kind of wierd. At home i always see the comercials, and like ya said, so and so politician is good because he supports education, child rights, lower taxes, etc etc, ya know all the things ya think really need to be focussed on. Then I am away on vacation and I am seieng the most bizzar shit, so and so politician is endorsed by the NRA, wantrs to lower taxes for rich people, rid the state of blacks lol... etc etc, like jesus did i just land in so bizzaro nazi universe

[birdgirl73]

It is sad, isn't it? They target those ads simply to the issues they know will sway voters the most and don't worry at all about truth in what they're saying. Media advisers and advertising/marketing consultants worry a lot more about the spin that'll win votes than they do about the accurate facts. Spin is much more sensational and scary, so it sways more people, at least those who don't dig a little deeper.

Here in the Dallas area where I live, one of the local news stations, WFAA, has been doing a neat thing during the last few elections. They call it "Truth Watch," and basically they go fact by fact through the candidates' ads and tell which parts are true, which facts are distorted, and which are blantantly untrue, backing up all the information with real facts and stats. In our current gubernatorial campaign, all four candidates got busted on Truth Watch to some extent or another.

[andruejaysin]

Wow, what a great idea. Wouldn't it me nice if the media actually told us the facts, rather than bringing in two guys to argue about them.