Umm, Bush you passed the ethical line awhile ago!
I wanted to comment really quickly on the article that was listed under recommended reading for this week. The article can be found at http://www.factcheck.org/article143.html and is titled, “Bush's Misleading Attack Video”. It is a great example of questionable ethical behavior with targeted campaigning. Bush not only out-and-out lied about Kerry’s donations; he actually made accusations about charges people could have argued he allowed in his own campaign while he was running for re-election. What’s the saying; “He without sin cast the first stone”… I think candidates at every level need to be very careful about blaming others for questionable practices when they themselves haven’t been the most honorable. Where is the ethical line in politics? Is it ever changing, or is there a true bare minimum? Across all boundaries (generational, regional or ethical ties) it seems people’s values represent the full spectrum.
3 Comments:
Unfortunately, we are at a point where there is a very thin line for ethics in political ads. Everything and everyone are subject to attack, on both sides of the aisle.
Lee Atwater, his father's political consultant, went negative for the sheer joy of it to highlight the "differences" between the candidates. In today's politics, candidates and consultants go negative because they do not face any consequences and because it's effective. The line of ethical campaign advertisements is ever-changing.
The worst part, in my mind, is that the American public is so unformed that they will believe any smear attack that they hear on TV. Consultants could inform voters, but they get paid to win. And in order to win, most campaigns go negative early, and often.
Do you think there will ever be a point when politicians can actually be punished for lying in campaigns. I know they can be punished in the media but it that enough when they are constantly deceiving the public? I think they need to held more responsible for the content of their campaigns.
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