Efforts to Research the Truth Keeps Candidates From Playing Fast and Loose With the Facts

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by Lisette LivingstonLesley R.Chinn contributed to thisstory

A picture is worth a thousand wordsand a negative political attack ad isworth a thousand more. With theadvent of the Internet and the productionof savvy television commercials,political ads are sometimes sliced,diced and spun into a web of misleadingand suggestive attacks. Often usedto create images that incite fear, createconfusion and sometimes downrightdeceive voters, separating fact fromfiction can be more than a notion forvoters headed to the polls.

In 1988, Willie Horton, a black man,was used in an ad to attack Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakisfor his support of a prisoner furloughprogram in Massachusetts. Horton wasconvicted of murder, sentenced to lifeimprisonment without the possibilityof parole, and incarcerated at theConcord Correctional Facility inMassachusetts. In June of 1986, hewas released as part of a weekend furloughprogram, but did not return. Thenext year in April, in Oxon Hill,Maryland, Horton twice raped a localwoman after pistol-whipping, knifing,binding, and gagging her fianc. Hethen stole the car belonging to the manhe had assaulted, but was later capturedby police. For his crimes, Hortonwas sentenced in Maryland to twoconsecutive life terms plus 85 years.Vincent J. Femia, the sentencingjudge, refused to return him toMassachusetts. On April 18, 1996,Horton was transferred to the JessupCorrectional Institution, a maximumsecurityprison, where he remainsincarcerated today.

Presidential Candidate George H. W.Bush would later use the Horton issueto win the Presidential election in1988 after Michael Dukakis clinchedthe Democratic nomination. Althoughrun as an independent expenditure andseparate from the Bush campaign, thead included a menacing mug shot ofHorton and played on the fears ofcrime and prejudice against Blacks.While there was no documented evidence that specifically showed theHorton ad won the election for Bush,Dukakis failure to forcefully answerthe charge that he had let Horton runloose to terrorize innocent peopleand accusations about his continuedsupport of the furlough program untilthe Massachusetts legislature changedthe law, was surely a game changer inthe election. Ironically, while Dukakissupported the program as a method ofcriminal rehabilitation, it was actuallysigned into law by RepublicanGovernor Francis W. Sargent in 1972.

Six years later, a number of consumeradvocate groups, on a missionfor factual accuracy, are changing thelandscape of campaigns and commercials.Just as quickly as misleadingpolitical ads can go up, the samegroups are bringing them down andare aiming to reduce the level ofdeception and confusion in U.S. politics.Created in 1994 and based inWashington D.C., Factcheck.org isone of those groups. A project of theAnnenberg Public Policy Center ofthe University of Pennsylvania, theorganization monitors what is said bymajor U.S. political players in televisionads, debates, speeches, interviewsand news releases. The organizationaccepts no funding from business corporations,labor unions, political parties,lobbying organizations or individuals.

Viveca Novak, deputy director ofFactcheck.org cited a recent ad aboutSenator Obama as an example of anad that misleads the public. In thecommercial, Obama is tied to a corruptpolitical Democratic machine inChicago. Gov. Rod Blagojevich,Senate President Emil Jones Jr., TonyRezko, a real estate developer, andBill Daley, former U.S. Secretary ofCommerce (also the brother of MayorRichard M. Daley) are all depicted inthe ad. Senator John McCain and producersof the commercial call BillDaley a lobbyist, while Jones isplaced under an ethical cloud. Rezkois dubbed Obamas money man andother inferences include suggestionsthat Blagojevich has a legacy of federaland state investigations. Becauseof the associations, the ad concludesthat Obama is unfit to lead as president.

But according to Factcheck.org, thedetails of the ad are more misleadingthan truthful. While Blagojevich hasbeen plagued with scandals, it has notimpacted his job as governor. In fact,Obama has worked on ethics legislationas a result of Blagojevichsactions in this area. Jones may beconsidered Obamas godfather, butduring their political careers, neitherJones nor Bill Daley for that matter,have ever been tied to any serious corruptionor misdeeds. Moreover, Daleyis not Obamas only economic advisorand according to reports, has neverbeen lobbyist. Additionally, Obamasevered his ties with the controversialreal estate developer after Rezko wasindicted for money fraud. In fact,Obama gave nearly $150,000 in contributionsto charity that he receivedfrom Rezko, his employees, his associatesand his family during ObamasHouse and Senate Campaigns.Novak said politicians indulge in negativecampaigning at any given costbecause it works. But voters need toreally work to do the research, shesaid and to try to understand whats thetruth and whats not. Accepting everythingfor face value is never is agood way to stay informed. Peoplecan do with it what they will, but atleast the information is out there, shesaid.

Jay Paul Deratany, a Chicago attorney,is also working to bring transparencyto the records of Chicago politicians.Deratany, along with Mike Foucher, anindependent political consultant,recently launched Cloutwiki.org, anew web site that seeks to inform votersabout the history of Chicago andCook County politicians records andbackgrounds. The site is modeled afteranother online encyclopedia,Wikipedia.org and the creators encourageparticipation from the public.Currently, it includes an assortment offacts and history about Chicago aldermen,Cook County Board commissioners,and U.S. Congressman.Deratany said the group is still workingon updating information. A lot ofvoters dont know about the history of some of the Chicago politicians, hesaid, but publishing facts on the sitewill help shed light on the situation.Plans are underway to expand thesites reach with input from readers.Were adding and changing things.Its going to be an ongoing process. Wewant to be an interactive site so thatpeople can add corrections, and orenter their own viewpoints he said.

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