If I had to name one factor overall, it would be [media bias]. In any campaign, information flow is crucial. The mainstream media have a virtual stranglehold on information in this country. When I talk with friends and family, I am constantly appalled at the lack of knowledge about what is going on. A small sample of things most voters do not know (because the media refuse to report them):
1. Contrary to what he tells voters, John Kerry opposed the war in Vietnam before he went. He applied for a draft deferment, was denied, served only 4 months of a 12 month combat tour, wrote in his own journal that he wasn't under enemy fire when he received his first Purple Heart (thus making it invalid under Navy regs), two other men corroborate that there was no enemy fire that day, he submitted himself for that award, was denied by his CO, then resubmitted it elsewhere (non-military people don't realize how irregular this is - you don't go outside your own command to get awards).
2. Democrats introduced the draft bill in Congress, where it was defeated 402-2. It has always been vehemently opposed by the White House and the DOD. A draft is actually more likely under Kerry than Bush, as Kerry has vowed to increase the size of the armed forces dramatically.
3. The "million blacks disenfranchised in the 2000 election" lie Kerry keeps telling is baseless. The Democrat led- and run- Civil Rights Commission investigation into the 2000 election found no evidence to support this allegation. An important question for Kerry supporters: if 1 million blacks were truly disenfranchised then, why didn't Kerry sponsor legislation to fix this gross injustice? Such a horrible, horrible travesty should have produced some response from the Democratic congress... should it not? Where was the leadership on this one, Senator?
4. George Bush volunteered to go to Vietnam while he was in the National Guard. And many of his National Guard wingmen have come forward to vouch that he did complete his drill as required. The media have simply refused to report it.
5. John Kerry, after calling for George Bush to release his military records (and promising to release his own on Meet the Press) refuses to do the same. Almost 100 pages of military records remain unreleased to this day. And they relate to disputed parts of his record, which he consistently refuses to address. Why does he feel he shouldn't have to answer the very same questions he posed to his opponent? Is he above the same standard? Apparently he feels so.
I’d have to agree. I’ve spent hundreds of hours educating myself on the issues in this election. I’ve been amazed at how biased the media coverage is, not only in how it presents the news, but in which news it presents. The public, not entirely through fault of its own, is both misinformed and uninformed. In addition, most of the “pundits” on TV are forwarding bad information, whether out of malice or ignorance I can only guess. Not a night goes by where I don’t hear some major misrepresentation of important events being passed along as “fact.” My efforts to inform myself this year have totally destroyed any faith I had in the media, particularly the TV media, whose broadcasts I’ve come to regard as mediamercials.
Undoubtedly the biggest injustice perpetuated upon the public is the “fact” that the war in Iraq is a “mess.” The truth is that by any reasonable historic measure, our efforts there have been a tremendous success. We have done in 18 months what the critics said was impossible, and with fewer casualties than even the optimists predicted.
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