WITHOUT ISSUES, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET

The primary is over, and the races have been won and lost. Now, Democrat and Republican candidates will be setting their sights on each other. With 90 days remaining before the general election, however, it's time to reflect on what has been Missouri's most negative primary election yet.

It seems some state candidates have taken their cue from the highest office in the land. That campaign, too, is riddled with innuendo and accusation. This negative nature of campaigning leaves us with a bad taste.

It also prompts us to wonder: What happened to the issues?

Too often candidates have put their campaigns in the hands of marketing firms. As their name implies, it's these firms' job to market the candidates, just as they would laundry soap, automobiles or any other product. The result is that issues become lost in jingles and images.

Meanwhile, the only principle that these marketing/political campaigns seem to reflect is: "Anything goes real or imaginary if it helps our candidate win." This is the lazy way out; for it is much easier to muddy your opponent than espouse your own virtues.

Admittedly, the media carry some of the blame. Candidates who focus on the issues or who lack dynamic speaking styles are often seen as boring especially by television and they often find it hard to get attention. At other times, the media is so caught up with the horse race of who is doing what in the polls that there isn't time or space enough to report in-depth on the issues. This newspaper strives to report on the issues, but we wonder how well these issue-orientated articles are read.

First responsibility for elevating the democratic process lies with the candidates. Certainly, it is fair and proper for candidates to point to the records of their opponents. But pointing out an opponents' record doesn't have to become a slick and deceitful caricature of them.

Many politicians will quickly say that their campaigns aren't negative at all. They'd rather use the description "hard positive." In private, though, even most of these will admit that they would prefer not to use such tactics ... "but that's just the nature of the beast."

This is unfortunate; and it is dangerous. The public is not only fed up with politicians, it is becoming more and more disenfranchised with the democratic process. Is it any wonder then that we have seen more serious riots and protests this past year than in the last 20?

Where does the ultimate responsibility for elevating the process rest, however? With the voters. Indeed, let's all ask ourselves: How much did we know about candidates' stands on important issues, or their record of service, when we cast that ballot Tuesday? In those races that were contested, what was the prevailing reason we made the selections we did: name, image or record?

Or did we even vote?

It is time for the voter to demand a change in the focus of campaigining as we head toward the general election statewide and nationally. For if we rally to candidates only because of good marketing slogans or smear campaigns, we have mainly ourselves to blame when their performance in office becomes just another bit of smoke and mirrors.