THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411120067
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Diogenes thought he had it hard, looking for an honest man. Lucky soul never sought an honest campaign.
His lamp went out long before candidates actually hired people to thumb back issues of the Congressional Rec-ord and other dustcatchers for snippets to mis-con-strue.
In a more ideal world campaign ads* would come like corn flakes, with content labels attached:
Total Truth, .4 grams, .476% of the recommended daily al-low-ance.
Total puffery, 16 grams, 30% RDA.
Total lies, 30 grams, lifetime supply.
*Not a significant source of information for serious voters.
Ads would come with warnings like cigarettes, that other source of smoke and malignancy:
The surgeon general has determined that political advertising is hazardous to democracy.
They would come labeled like other potential poisons, with instructions:
Do not swallow.
Ah, well, none of that's in anybody's Contract.
So in a more ideal world, candidates and their campaign staffs would swear on a stack of signs pulled from public rights-of-way to abide voluntarily by this rule:
No candidate's ads will refer by name or otherwise to any opponent.
A campaign would tout only what the candidate has done and will do that should make people vote for him.
Campaigns would be cleaner: Who'll advertise his own warts?
They'll be cheaper, because they'll be shorter: How long can anybody toot his own horn?
And who'll keep all the candidates and all the campaigns honest about their politics, programs, policies, profession, education, record, family, warts, hair, habits, horrors, heritage?
The ideal press, of course. by CNB