User profile: sidetracked

As an American first, and a political partisan a distant second, I'm deeply concerned at the state of our political discourse.

I fault both candidates - particularly John McCain whose ads have gotten so far from the truth as to be laughable. However, I also fault the media for spending more time on every minor verbal gaff a candidate makes, or trying to deify or demonize Sarah Palin, then on the crucial issues; The Iraq War, the economy and taxes, health insurance, etc.

Right now, over 50% of Americans polled believe Barak Obama's plan is to raise their taxes. That's wrong. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center reports that Obama's specific plan "offers much larger tax breaks to low and middle income taxpayers" than John McCain. It also states that for 80% of the population (those making less than $112,000 a year) Obama's tax cuts would more than double those offered by McCain.

So more than 50% of us believe a fundamental untruth about a major policy position of one of our two candidates. That means something is seriously off-track.

It means our political opinions are being formed not by facts, but by attack ads and sound bites. McCain repeats 'he'll raise your taxes' enough times, and people start believing it to be true.

I blame McCain for deceptive advertising, but I also blame Obama for not being clearer and more forceful in stating his positions. However, I also blame the press for not focusing our attention on the key issues and what the candidates actually say about them. (As opposed to what the opposing candidate claims he says).

I had to search far longer for an article with an objective, non-partisan look at each candidate's tax plan, then I did for the most absurdly minute details of Sarah Palin's 20 months as governor of Alaska, or John McCain's 'house' slip up, or opinions of what Obama did or didn't mean by 'lipstick on a pig'.

The same with the Iraq war - a war most American's think was a mistake, that has cost over 4,000 American lives and over a trillion dollars. There's a stark difference between the two candidates - one man supported the war from the start, one has always been against it. Yet that issue takes a back burner in the news to each day's trivial campaign blunders, or half-true attacks and counter attacks.

Personally, I support Barak Obama because I like his policy ideas and where he wants to lead the nation. If someone really knows and likes John McCain's specific ideas I respect that.

What terrifies me is that millions of Americans will vote not based on a considered, thoughtful, truthful understanding of each candidate's stances on the issues that will decide our future, but on the distortions of 30 second attack ads, on knee-jerk reactions to simplistic labels; 'liberal', 'conservative', 'elitist', and on journalism that focuses on the latest bright shiny object, instead of helping Americans fully understand what each of these men intend to do if elected.