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Politics

Just Because They Say It Doesn't Make It So

As I write this, I'm watching the primary returns from North Carolina and Indiana, and it's apparent that some of the network anchors and their & "experts" hang onto racist and sexist rhetoric in spite of the fact that much of the American population appears to have moved past it.

What is their problem, I ask myself, and why should they be allowed to make it ours?

I listen to them and I hear the same old refrains. "Obama has failed to connect ... failed to connect." & Really? He seems to have "connected" with a whole lot of people.

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"Super delegates are "elitist" and they are made up of party bosses and union leaders," opines Leslie Sanchez, a former Bush staffer. Union leaders are now elitist? Since when are union bosses the elite?

Hillary Clinton's premature victory speech---what's with the guy with the boxing gloves? Were these props or what? Knowing the kind of security people face when they enter these political rallies, I have a hard time believing that they let a guy with huge red boxing gloves so close to Hillary if her staff didn't give them to him as a symbol of "the fight."

Oh my gosh, here's Lanny Davis again, "Obama has filed to connect....failed to connect...failed to connect with the working class, that is our base." & John Edward's was undoubtedly the most connected to our working class and look where it got him.

"He is the most liberal senator in congress today" inserts Leslie Sanchez, in spite of the fact that that particular sound bite has been debunked over and over again.

"Obama should embrace the economic populace," said Maria Teresa Peterson . Could someone tell me what the heck that means? I think we are all populaces of some economic base.

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And recently, one of my fellow bloggers repeated that tired old shtick about John Edwards expensive hair cut. What do you think Hillary's hair and face cost? She has to have a running posse of fix-er uppers, but then, they all have them. But it was Edwards whose hair became a "character flaw" that got repeated over and over, but meant nothing.

And finally my very favorite. Hardly a day passes that some "well-meaning" relative or friend doesn't e-mail a warning that "Obama is a Muslim," with stern instructions to "forward this to everyone I know." &

There are several variations of the same toxic propaganda , all calculated to engender fear and hatred. I have followed the genesis of these false assertions, and they keep leading back to the same pack of jackals.

Dishonesty in politics is nothing new, but because of & the pervasiveness of global communication, we are bombarded as never before. & Basically, we have three extraordinary, if flawed, people running for president. This endless maelstrom of innuendos, distortion, and double speak has done us all a grave disservice.

Maybe it's time to sober up and break the habit.

-Citizen Voices blogger Candace Suerstedt is a filmmaker and a mother of three who lives in Coronado.