The politics of personal abuse
It is a sad fact that rather too much of politics these days consists of personal attacks on opposing candidates. I am not saying that those who put themselves forward for office should be immune from criticism, especially if they deserve it.
But there is far too much abuse which is false, utterly irrelevant to the office which the person attacked holds or is standing for, or worst of all, drags the family or children of candidates into the mud.
I have been following the US elections with fascination. There has been much that is good about the way the American primary system gives enormous opporunities for ordinary voters to influence the outcome, and I can also see some immensely positive things about both John McCain and Barack Obama. There are also things about their system which I really don't like, including the cost, the consequent effect on their politics of the need for candidates to raised huge sums of money, and the amount of mud which all too frequently gets thrown around. (And no, I'm not suggesting that the need to raise money doesn't sometimes cause problems on this side of the Atlantic too.)
Let me make clear that all four Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates have said things which I agree with and others that I strongly disagree with. Nothing in this post should be taken as an endorsement of either side. What I am saying is that I am surprised and disappointed by the degree of venom and the number of blatant and reprehensible lies which have been told about both Democrat and Republican candidates and their families. You would think there were enough true things which partisans on each side could find to attack on the other without making up the kind of thing which has been flying around.
The website here lists some 71 allegations which have been made about one of the four candidates, and gives a view of which are true and which are not. It would be extremely funny if it wasn't so sad that some of these stories can be repeated and believed.
But there is far too much abuse which is false, utterly irrelevant to the office which the person attacked holds or is standing for, or worst of all, drags the family or children of candidates into the mud.
I have been following the US elections with fascination. There has been much that is good about the way the American primary system gives enormous opporunities for ordinary voters to influence the outcome, and I can also see some immensely positive things about both John McCain and Barack Obama. There are also things about their system which I really don't like, including the cost, the consequent effect on their politics of the need for candidates to raised huge sums of money, and the amount of mud which all too frequently gets thrown around. (And no, I'm not suggesting that the need to raise money doesn't sometimes cause problems on this side of the Atlantic too.)
Let me make clear that all four Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates have said things which I agree with and others that I strongly disagree with. Nothing in this post should be taken as an endorsement of either side. What I am saying is that I am surprised and disappointed by the degree of venom and the number of blatant and reprehensible lies which have been told about both Democrat and Republican candidates and their families. You would think there were enough true things which partisans on each side could find to attack on the other without making up the kind of thing which has been flying around.
The website here lists some 71 allegations which have been made about one of the four candidates, and gives a view of which are true and which are not. It would be extremely funny if it wasn't so sad that some of these stories can be repeated and believed.
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