Just For Fun: A Certain Style

"The media should not present the American public with polls...Why is it important that the public know who is the most popular candidate? Are Americans just a herd of sheep following statistics off a high cliff?" CA

"If a candidate running for public office makes a grade lower than an A in driver's education, does that mean that he is not fit to drive on the public roads? Is life but a public road within itself, on that every person must follow. A public road with eyes looking in on you, criticizing you. " AL

"(The media) should never be allowed to turn America into a storybook with the public as blind mice running around trying to find holes of truth." AL

"The reporters get too involved in asking questions. I dislike it when reporters surround people to ask them questions. It is like a hive of bees swarming someone who just sprayed their hive with bee killer." PA

"Is this a presidential election or a media circus? If the answer is of a three-ring variety, one can change channels, sticking by personal beliefs and avoiding the flame-throwing talking-dog world of the raging media." IL

"One cannot make a true judgment on a cake if he has only tasted the frosting. Likewise, there is no way one can make a fair decision if he is merely allowed the frosting and not the breaded part of the cake. The media needs to quit giving the people of this country a meager portion of the frosting when there is a whole cake to be tasted." NE

"Barbara Streisand loaned her voice to Clinton, while Arnold, the Terminator, flexed his biceps for Bush...Madonna was willing to prance around with the American flag wrapped around her, simply to convince the people to vote...Clinton managed to dodge the love scandal with Gennifer Flowers, the draft issue, the Vietnam War protests, and the experimentation with marijuana; maybe he can handle what awaits him in the Oval Office." MI

"Whether or not you vote for the 'absolute best' candidate for national office, you won't be able to see the whole picture until the candidate has started to work. You, too, cannot judge a movie until you see it all the way through...In the end, you have to decide which movie you would rather spend six dollars on, and hope that you do not get ripped off." OK

"TV provides the perfect opportunity to put the 'candid' back into 'candidate.'" OR

"The public needs to realize that the media is as out-of-control as a runaway horse. The question is when are we going to grab the reins and stop it? OR

"In the end, candidates capture offices and networks feast on awards for their coverage; while the common American eats the dust left from their whirlwind of information." OR

"The media has a tremendous effect on the campaign just (as) a nuclear warhead has an impact during a war." NY

"The news media was created by people who wanted to know everything about anything." MO

"The media is as important to a candidate's chance for reelection as water is to sustain life." MD

"If you were a passenger on the ill-fated Titanic, SOS would be a distress call, and if you were a modern-day housewife, SOS would be a scouring pad. However, if you are concerned with the media's role in national elections, SOS would mean season of speculation, speculation as to the answer of the question what role does, and what role should the media play in choosing our candidates for national office." OH

"Politicians cannot decide if the press is their best friend or worst nightmare...The press is the door to the public; step through that door and they can either offer you tea or drop you in the cellar." IN

"The entire national election process has become a made-for-television drama. The voters are the audience and the politicians the actors and actresses. Behind the scenes of the drama are the directors, producers, makeup artists, etc. These are the party chairmen, interest groups, lobbyists, campaign managers and the like. As in any TV drama, the motive of the actors, actresses, and others in charge of production is to convince the audience that the scene viewers are witnessing is realistic, believable, and that the character, if it is the candidate being supported, is likeable, trustworthy, and honest - a hero, their hero. If the actor is the challenger, the audience must be persuaded to see the person as dishonest, lacking decisiveness, and unpredictable - the villain. However, as the drama unfolds, in what turns out to be a long, seemingly never-ending production, the audience begins to grow tired, weary, unsympathetic, and quite cynical of the whole episode...When voters first see all the previews (announcements for candidacy, flights for victories in primaries, and opening speeches), they may be excited, but by the time all these auditions for the main drama take place, the audience becomes bored." IN

"Soon the debates were upon everyone and every lie, deceitful or otherwise damaging statement uttered along the race, was swallowed up and regurgitated onto the laps of Mr. and Miss America. It seemed that the only bull that went unheard was the one from the Schlitz malt liquor commercials." IN

"It is a wild beast in that it is unpredictable in its approach to political figures. It may go for their jugular vein and kill them instantly or it may lick their hand and do their bidding. It is always seeking new ways to use its strength by digging up new information on politicians and seeing them weaken under the strain..." IL

"The director is sometimes right, and sometimes wrong, but a movie or play can't be produced without one. In the same way, there can't be an election without the media. It's then the actors, actresses, and audience who deal with the downfall or triumph of the director's decision. No matter which direction the curtain or election falls, it's the response of everyone else that ultimately gives a good or bad review." PA

"It's like a tall tale or a tabloid headline that reads 'UFO Aids Clinton Campaign.' Everyone has their own little part to add to the story, even if it is not true. It could be compared to a snowball rolling down a steep mountain. The snowball keeps growing larger as it descends the mountain from everything compacting into it, not just the snow which represents truth." PA

"the press should act as civilized human beings rather than animals on the hunt. They look for any signs of weaknesses in order to run in and make the kill." PA

"Mother always said to be sure to 'wash behind your ears.' Running mates and the press drag the politicians' names through the mud every chance they are given. They played in the mud puddles the same as everyone else." PA

"If they (candidates) are not the spitting image of Superman, the press will take whatever minute detail of imperfection and blow it out of proportion. It will be stretched and pulled like vinegar taffy to make it seem worse than it really is." PA

"But just as a stranger deceives a small child by exploiting his/her innocence, so too does the media to us. The media purposely deceives us to further their own ideas and denies us the information which may concern us. In the end, the only solution remain within: within the media and within ourselves." PA

"Over the past thirty years, the media has become a deserted ship, slowly drifting out to sea and isolating itself from society's concerns." PA

"The media spreads collected facts like a virus into homes across the country." PA

"No one can make a decision on who to cast their ballot for if all they really know is on gay family member was thrown out of their father's will after the father discovered the truth; how many puppies their family dog had; or how the nominee flosses his teeth." PA

"During a national election, the media is like a parent. The media tries to get you to do what they want and what they think is right. The parent does this by telling the child only what the parent thinks is right, and not letting the child think it out for himself." PA