To the editor:

Thanks to all in the media for at least making the attempt to set the record straight on the military history of President Bush. I do believe he and his family abused his/their privileged position regarding the reserves. I believe Sen. Kerry deserves his medals from the Vietnam war zone.

While many are constantly calling the press, in general, liberal, I certainly do not see it. The hard-hitting investigative reporting on the government is not as prevalent as say 25 to 30 years ago. The public depends on this to maintain some level of factual information. Who’s in the White House or who’s the controlling party should remain irrelevant.

However, it is time to move on with matters of substance such as reviewing character assassination political ads first rather than airing lies. Once the lie gets out, the damage is done. These ads certainly are counterproductive, not to mention enormously distracting from the real issues at hand. Have huge campaign bucks replaced truth in advertising?

How about more media time and space devoted to the issues. What are the candidates offering now? Public education funding, health insurance, new energy options, outsourcing jobs, environmental protection and foreign policy are some issues. What types of new industry will the candidates be looking at in order to create new jobs is yet a totally new issue. Let’s keep the issues on the table and forget about the character assassination nonsense.

Richard Heckler,

Lawrence