The Legacy of Negative Campaigning

To the Editor:

It was the last presidential election year, 2000, when negative campaigning proved so successful. John McCain and George Bush were running neck and neck for the Republican nomination. In fact, McCain won decisively in Connecticut and New York was a toss up. A small group of veterans accused McCain, a man who refused to say anything negative about his country despite five years of imprisonment and torture, of abandoning Vietnam veterans. Another group of apparently well to do Bush supporters ran ads in the New York newspapers at the last minute, accusing McCain of not supporting funds for research and treatment of breast cancer. McCain had neither the time nor financial resources to answer these attacks adequately. He lost the New York primary.

Are you tired of all this very personal negative campaigning? I know I am. I think I get it. George Bush is a spoiled rich kid who got preferential treatment to join, and while in, the National Guard Reserves, he didn’t attend all the meetings and skipped a physical. I wonder why? John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam, but he doesn’t deserve his medals, and he accused his fellow soldiers of atrocities. Enough, already! Can we talk about the real issues now? How about addressing the following:

1. Where is our economy headed? It looks like George W. Bush will be the first president since the Great Depression to close his four-year term with a negative job growth figure, and as if record deficits weren’t enough, we have a looming financial crises, when our baby boomers start collecting Social Security and Medicare.

2. Were we misled into an unnecessary war in Iraq? Now that we’re there, how can we make the sacrifices of our loyal troops worthwhile and avoid a Vietnam type defeat?

3. How can we fix the health care mess in the US? We have the best health care in the world and one of the worst ratings on access to that care. About 40 percent of our citizens lack medical insurance and the rest subsidize whatever care they receive in hospital emergency rooms.

Bill Meiners

Tory Lane, Newtown                                                September 17, 2004