Mudslinging and character assassination are rampant

The Mid-Term Election Wars of 2010: Has Intelligence Been Wounded?

By Rev. Michael Bresciani
Saturday, October 23, 2010

Mudslinging and character assassination are rampant in the final days leading up to the November 2 election. No election in American history has seen such fierce battles to win the hearts and minds of the nation’s voters.

Recently someone compared Louis Farrakhan’s religion, The Nation of Islam, to the kind of Islam found in Muslim countries of today. It wasn’t a college freshman who made the comparison but a fully lettered Harvard grad. I shuddered to think they were so naïve and wholly un-informed, since the Nation of Islam is a laughing stock to most Muslims around the world. They don’t laugh at Farrakhan’s religion but only at the comparison.

The same kind of crippled cognizance is plaguing the midterm election campaigns in the U.S. and only the most unsuspecting are the victims of the malady. When conflicting TV ads about candidates are aired it isn’t likely that people will jump to their feet and run to some reference book or the computer to check out the claims. More than likely they will ignore what they have heard and vote for the candidate they like the best. Reaction is traction in a political race, while intelligent choices require information and reflection not to mention time.

Last month a blogger on the Huffington Post was quoted for saying “The intelligent voters know what President Obama is up against, and still support him.â€