I am writing in response to your Elections 2000 insert. First of all, your title, "Image Could Cloud Issues in Oval Office Race," hit the nail right on the head. The reason why the issues have become clouded by images is because of media outlets such as The Daily Tar Heel. Instead of merely reporting the facts, you media types feel the need to portray the candidates in a certain way, with Al Gore as experience and George W. Bush as personality.
Hmm. This certainly sounds familiar. It seems to me as if eight years ago we had the exact same situation, with George Bush (experience) and Bill Clinton (personality). And by the way, who won? Bill Clinton. And not only did he win, but he was re-elected! But none of you in the media feel the need to talk about this fact when labeling Bush as inexperienced.
All I hear is how Al Gore is so experienced, because he's been in Washington for almost 25 years, and George W. is not, because he's just a governor - an outsider of D.C. Gore is so versed and experienced in foreign policy, and Bush is not. But Clinton was just a governor before he took office. He wasn't a Washington insider. He didn't have any "foreign policy" experience.
But once again, that doesn't matter to the media. They make no mention of that. While Gore has spent the last eight years entangled in scandals, Bush was leading one of the largest states in the Union.
A final point that I would like to clarify would be about Al Gore's supposed $10,000 tuition tax deduction, because that is an issue that affects all of us here. His plan is not a $10,000 tax deduction; rather, it is a 28 percent tax credit on $10,000, which equals $2,800. So what you really get is a $2,800 deduction. Well, you already get $2,000, so all Gore is really giving you is $800. But which sounds better, $800 or $10,000? And if that isn't bad enough, only people who are in the 28 percent tax bracket qualify for it. So for those of you who are working to put yourself through college, you don't make enough to qualify.
But none of this matters to the media. Why would you want to report the facts when it gets in the way of pushing your own personal agenda across, or when it doesn't allow you to play on perceptions?
Philip D. Hensley Jr.
Freshman
Journalism and Political Science
