The News Media

A wise constituent follows the money...not the media. If you know who is backing the candidate, where they're spending and investing their money, then you know what you're getting into if you vote for them.

The media is all smoke and mirrors. Everyone knows that. The debates, the speeches, the ad campaigns are all the window dressing, the presentation before the meal. If you're gullible to buy it, then you get what you deserve.

Anyone who is serious about the elections knows to get their voting record (if it's an incumbent we're talking about) and most importantly the donor lists and take it from there. Gleaning information from a debate on the networks is as valuable as a penney in a slot casino. You know that a week later, all of the candidates will be back tracking and restating what they said the week before to "clarify" their position on something that didn't appeal as they hoped it would with the masses. But what few people bother to do is match those statements to their voting record and donor lists. More often than not they say what they need to say, but will vote otherwise if they get in office.

SO many people allow the media to make their decisions for them -it's really quite scary! They also don't think about the actual facts that should be considered for the job -basically the candidates views on real issues and how he (or she) would work with opposing factions -what have they compromised on in the past and what are they willing to compromise on in the future -or not?

J. yesterday I was asked on a phone interview for a focus group to identify a woman I admired and tell why. I answered Hillary Clinton because I do like her; I think she's smart and has weathered some terribly public storms with tremendous grace. The woman on the other end said she liked her too, but that the REASON she voted for Barack Obama was that she got to meet Michelle Obama before the election, and she liked her so much she decided to vote for Barack. OK -great -I like Michelle Obama too, but she IS NOT THE PRESIDENT nor was she running to be. It was J. one example to M. of how people make their voting decisions for all the wrong reasons.

Ahhhhhh..... such a loaded, well phrased, thought provoking question. That unfortunately will be pulled soon because politics, like religion and abortion is a topic that not all of us can agree on and not all of us can let the next person J. express their thoughts on it freely.
So to answer your question. There isn't a stand out with the current candidates. I am a Ron Paul fan, but for some reason the public seems to be scared of him. Is it because he doesn't 'look' Presidential? I don't know. My thoughts are that Obama will be there for 4 more, simple because no one at this point..... has a point. And to answer your question, yes there is a TON at stake.

Definitely a loaded question. The media doesn't tell people how to vote. That is always left up to individuals. Media can certainly be slanted (a la Fox News), but in the end, we all have brains and can make our own interpretations.

So far, I haven't seen any news outlet convey that one Republican candidate is "The One." In fact, the media seems to be all over the place, depending on the day, which to M. says they're doing their jobs.

The media isn't evil. I used to be part of it and it's a tough industry. So much of what we did was focused on getting the facts straight. There are very hard-working journalists out there. "They" are real people working hard to get information out to viewers and readers.

My answer is no as a majority people do not do their own research. Too many are influenced by what is being fed to them or what their family is doing, or because they have always voted this one way and they won't change regardless. I've actually heard someone tell someone that they are voting for someone because they like the way their name sounded. Really! It's J. like those who voted for Obama J. because he is black. (we all know that happened) I didn't vote for him because I didn't think he was the right man for the job and I still don't. My reasoning has nothing to do with the color of his skin. I could care less what ethnicity they are. My care lies in what they stand for. The mainstream media is too biased. Too many times, they let their own personal feelings get in the way. I like to listen to all sides and do my own research because you have to realize the truth often lies somewhere in between. I am not a sheep and I refuse to follow what they say or do. There's nothing more dangerous than an uninformed voter. The way I see it, if you don't educate yourself on all who is running, I would rather you not vote. If you vote for whomever without knowing why or you don't vote at all, you really have no right to complain about what they do in office. Simple as that.

It's a little late for that -- Huntsman dropped out of the race. One of the best guys for the job had to drop out because the media paid him zero attention.

So the answer to your question is no, we are not doing our jobs, and yes, the media is determining the outcome of the election.

I think that too many people vote based on what they are fed or on a particular issue without looking at the big picture. That's not a Republican thing. That's a people thing. Happens with non-political issues, too. If all you watch is one news vendor (like Fox....) then you aren't getting the full story.

I honestly do not think our votes count for anything. The electoral college carries the state vote and pretty much makes the decision.

I vote for who I have heard the least gossip or negative feedback on. I do not vote one party or the other J. because. I vote for whomever has the cleanest record.

The media provides us with information. We have gotten lazy and take things at face-value. We align ourselves with what we want to hear. I recommend flip-flopping (since we are talking politics) between the right and left media. Then you can determine the middle.

I don't think the majority of Americans even realize the media is so one sided. I know I didn't until I met my husband. I was raised in a family that voted Democrat. It was all I knew.

I no longer vote down any party lines. It is important to listen to both the right/left media AND do some of your own research!

I agree with you that the media is the one who determends the election outcome. It is so biased that if people are deciding on who to vote for J. by what is in the media and not researching, watching debates and such, the media will have picked the winner. Take a look at the last presidentual election. No one took time to research Obama and what he stands for, nor did they really check on McCain. They went with the media which couldn't say anything good about McCain and they couldn't say enough good about Obama and didn't even try to hid the Bias. A good example is Joe The plumber bit. The media really hit McCain hard with his trusting Joe the plumber and made a big deal of his believing him. What they didn't point out was that Joe the Plumber went to Obama and asked HIM what he would do for him and the other plumber and blue collar workers. McCain used him as an example in a speech and so he paid for that. Obama was J. as desived as McCain but they didn't mention that fact. The worse they could find on McCain was his age and so they compared him to Bush and people believed it rather then checking out where he stood on different platforms. As for Bush, Media destroyed him as a good president by only pointing negitive things about him, never any good and he did plenty that was good. I can say this and I was a democrat up until 2008.
The 4 running in the Republician is doing harm to themselves with the bickering. Why in the world would they start dishing dirt on each other knowing that one of them will be running against Obama. It is disgusting.