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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 2, 2004 Our Views Campaign stops leave a lot to be desired The Cheney visit was a hot one � well at least the building of his speech in Jackson County was sweaty hot, filled with virtually a unanimous (all save two notable protesters who made virtually every news account) crowd of die-hard Republicans. The event itself was pretty tame and over in the blink of a sweaty eye. Despite the temperature, Dick Cheney's swing through Southern Oregon itself was not much of event. Other than a quick shake of the hand around secret service agents, a retread speech touting the fearful times we live in and the red, white and blue colors whirling in the breeze, there was little left to talk about - though the Mail Tribune still managed to pull off nearly a half a dozen stories and a photo spread of the visit. To be fair, the four-day long Democratic Convention in Boston hardly merited seemingly unending media coverage about the event either. Voters would have been far better served if the television stations would have opted instead for showing the event to voters. But rather than actually be given the opportunity to assess our candidates ourselves, we have become increasingly dependent on being entertained by the candidates and let the coverage of them tell us what we think. Frankly, the only candidates who actually seem to talk to voters anymore are outsiders like Dennis Kucinich who have no real shot of being elected (why they have no shot is yet another editorial). Kucinich talked to and listen to more voters during his two extensive visits to the region than Cheney will during two campaigns, and one term in office. Even though Kucinich was more than an hour late to meet with this editorial board, at least he came. Cheney's office didn't even respond to a request for a few minutes of real conversation. Connecting with voters is now completely scripted, like the Ohio workers who rode a while on President Bush's campaign bus. Whether the president actually learned anything remains to be seen. But the priceless line mentioning the visit during a speech at the next heavily choreographed tour stop was apparently well worth herding the chosen ones onto the bus. Both parties play these games. The media, oft more interested in ratings and sales than true coverage, plays the game as well. Voters should not. Turn off the TV ads, ignore the 30-second sound bytes and read the platforms. Check out the voting records. Read several news sources. Reject Internet gossip. Decide for yourself. Voting is the most powerful thing we do in a democracy. Don't let cheap tricks and sweaty tour stops rob you of using that responsibility wisely. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams