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61 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 5, 2004 Since WE Asked: Are negative ads a positive? The conventions are over (honest, feel free to turn on your TV again), and now the final sprint to Election Day begins. When all is said and done, once thing will be certain — more will have been said than done. And much of what’s said will be unkind remarks about the opposition. With that in mind, we asked: "Does negative campaign advertising have an impact on either your decision to vote for a candidate, or whether to vote at all?" Advertisement Your answers follow. After reading what your neighbors had to say, please take a moment to answer this week’s question. We promise it has nothing to do with Swift boats. It turns my stomach, which causes me to turn to a new channel/the page/my head. — J.P., Medford I’m displeased with both candidates and have contemplated throwing my vote to that other guy in protest. That would be a wasted vote, I understand; but the leadership today does not follow the will of the people and I’m ready for a radical change. John Anderson, Ross Perot, Ralph Nader ... to me they all have the appeal of not being typical politicians. — D.L., Las Vegas, Nev. No, negative advertising doesn’t affect my vote because I know the candidates are mostly worthless liars to begin with. Particularly on the national level, most of our elected officials are in the pockets of industrial interests whose names we don’t even know. — Joseph H., Medford Frankly, attack ads do bother me and they might make me reconsider my vote; but I would never let anything like that keep me from voting. The system we have is not perfect by any means, but idealistically it is a tiny chance to be heard anyway. — Vanessa H., Ashland I didn’t know what a Swift boat was before the conventions, but military activity IS important in terms of where the candidates stand (especially in these turbulent times). President Bush’s dental records aren’t so significant to me ... nor would the dental records (ick) of any candidate be of particular interest, personally. There is a lot that is brought out during a political campaign that I feel is a waste of time and money (both for the parties and the public). It’s no surprise that people get tired of it by the time the election rolls around. However, I still feel that despite the actions (and mud-slinging) of the candidates, it is still very important to vote, so I will "pull the lever" in November because one vote can make a difference. — Heather H., Medford It has no impact at all. One must look past advertising and educate themselves on facts and issues. — Carol H., Medford Not at all! In fact, I find all the commercials irritating. I’m voting for the candidate with the highest morals, President George W. Bush! — Joy, Central Point No. I plan to vote for "W"; Kerry has no history of doing anything good for us, the Dems just need someone to run! — Mike M., Gold Hill Negative attacks don’t bother me unless they’re like the vile lies we’ve seen recently, in which case I’ll vote Democrat ... again. — Darryl E., Eagle Point No! I look at both candidates carefully, and I read quite a bit about them before I make my decision.— Kathy M., Medford Negative campaign tactics set the tone. For example, Bush supporters who have vandalized Kerry signs up and down Hillcrest have W’s example to go by. — J.J., Medford It promotes the concept of voting against a candidate instead of for one. To me that’s not the least bit progressive. — Diane H., Medford Yes! President Bush must realize that every time he points his finger at Kerry there will ALWAYS be three pointing back at himself. — M. Jones, Gold Hill If the ad is false — like the Swift boat ads against John Kerry — it makes me angry. I’ll usually vote for the candidate being attacked. — Alan H., Medford This Week’s Question As usual, the latest round of Oregon assessment tests brought both good and bad results to Rogue Valley schools and students. While there obviously must be some way to measure the educational progress of our children, and the quality of the instruction they receive, the validity of state tests as the proper benchmark has come into question. With the start of school on folks’ minds, we ask: "Do standardized assessment tests accurately demonstrate the academic performance of students or their schools?" Please keep your answers brief and on the issue at hand. Responses received without your name and town can not be considered for publication. All responses will appear on the Web site a week from today. 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