  Bush, Kerry political ads can't handle the truth Voters in 30 states that are not expected to be closely contested in this year's presidential election are missing the onslaught of TV ads President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry are airing.
They should consider themselves fortunate. Voters in the other so-called battleground states, where the election is likely to be decided, aren't as lucky. The two campaigns, armed with record funds, are bombarding voters with attacks on the rival candidate that are filled with exaggerations, omissions and misleading statements peddled as "facts. " While deceptive ads are hardly new to politics, what makes this year different is how early the barrage has begun and how often the commercials are running. And truth is the principal victim: One non-partisan study has found that most viewers believe the ads. Political consultants may be convinced that campaigns that play loose with the facts win elections, but the country loses.
Voters are deprived of a chance to weigh the real differences between candidates. And polls show that mudslinging campaigns persuade many to stay home rather than vote. How each side has distorted facts: Bush. His ads claim Kerry would raise taxes by at least $900 billion in his first 100 days, wants to repeal the anti-terrorist USA Patriot Act and has repeatedly voted against much-needed defense programs. The facts: Kerry has no such tax plan. He has called for greater judicial supervision of investigations conducted under the Patriot Act, not the law's repeal.
And the defense spending shifts Kerry backed had been sought by Vice President Cheney when he was Defense secretary under Bush's father. Kerry. His ads charge that 3 million jobs have been lost during the Bush presidency and accuse Bush of saying that "sending jobs overseas makes sense. " By contrast, the ads claim Kerry "cast a decisive vote that created 20 million new jobs" a decade ago. The facts: At its worst, the drop in employment from 2001 through mid-2003 was 2.7 million. Recent gains put the net loss at 1.6 million through April. A White House economist, not Bush, said outsourcing jobs overseas lowers consumer prices; he did not say domestic job losses were a good thing.
And Kerry's "decisive" vote was for a 1993 deficit-reduction bill, backed by nearly every Democrat, that certainly wasn't the sole cause of the economic boom that followed. The claims in the ads are being closely monitored by news organizations and independent watchdogs such as Fact check.org, run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The center's survey of 18 battleground states found that the ads are having their intended effect: The public is buying the false claims.
Majorities believed that Bush "favors sending American jobs overseas," Kerry "voted for higher taxes 350 times" and 3 million jobs have been lost during Bush's presidency. A plurality agreed that "John Kerry wants to raise gasoline taxes by 50 cents a gallon," parroting the Bush campaign's recycling of a 10-year-old quote that Kerry has long since repudiated. Bush and Kerry have sharply differing views on many issues, from taxes and trade to health care and the environment. Highlighting them honestly would allow voters to make informed choices. Stretching the truth only gives voters another reason to stay home on Election Day. 
