Political ads alternative to wrestling
by Bernie Scheffler, editor-in-chief

    Note to WWF fans: if “rasslin” is getting old, watch prime-time TV commercials for some really dirty fighting.

   Yes, it’s election time again—season of the political attack ad. The action just doesn’t get much better than this.

   The costumes aren’t quite as flamboyant as what you might see on Smack Down, but the theatrics are in full force.

   Imagine Rick “The Dictator” Perry yelling words of warning to his opponent “Suave” Tony Sanchez before they finally settle things in the ring.

   That’s exactly what’s been going on between your favorite sit-coms.

   Sanchez tells us Perry has put the government up for sale and should “get on down the road.” Perry replies, “At least I don’t let drug dealers use my bank. And by the way, you’re not invited to my birthday party any more.”

   Former Dallas mayor Ron “Curly” Kirk is happy to inform voters that John “Pop” Cornyn, his opponent in the senate race, accepted campaign money from (evil of evils) Enron.

   Whatever, Cornyn says. Kirk’s law firm represented (of all things!) Enron.

   As if all the back-stabbing ads aren’t confusing enough, the actors, oops, I mean politicians, regularly say they are against smear campaigns. They’re really horrible, you know.

   Apparently they keep forgetting to mention that they are only against the ones that hurt them personally. If they’re the ones putting the attack ad out, then it’s just part of the game.

   The sad thing is that voters continue to put up with the antics. This dirty fighting isn’t helping anyone. All they do is effectively take the voters’ attention away from where the candidates actually stand on important issues.

   Hopefully voters will educate themselves on candidates before they go to the ballot box Nov. 5.

   Dirty fighting continues because it seems to work. Voters substitute the bad things they hear about each candidate for real decisions on who will do the better job. The voters who pay attention to such ads may be making the difference in the close elections we’ve seen.

   If voters ignore the nasty ads and vote based on issues, maybe politicians will realize they are making themselves look bad by attacking their opponents.