Is Media keeping good people out of politics? Would YOU run?

I really don't see any of those, besides the third, being an issue that would keep good people from running for office. The thing that really scares me is how they treat the families of candidates they don't like. That has progressively gotten worse over time. With Chelsey Clinton it was some nasty comments about her appearance and a few tabloids that would write stupid articles about her being seen with a guy (Oh the horror!). With Bush's daughters there were some paparazzi stalking them and reporting them for drinking under age (yeah, because that's such a rarity for girls that are 19-20). With Sarah Palin though it broke every boundary possible and showed how shameless, not only the tabloids are, but the mainstream media as well. They set out to destroy her and nobody, not her husband, her oldest son, her daughters, or even her baby with Down Syndrome were safe. So yes, I do think the media keeps some good people out of politics. I also think that too many states have obnoxious filing fees that prevent good ordinary people from running for office. Why should anyone have to pay $10,000 just to get their name on a ballot?

When you look at what they did to Gov Palin, or some other people it makes you wonder why anyone would want their whole life opened and commented on and accusations being made true or not all because of your political beliefs. Right now the media is trying to elect a specific candidate by reporting or not reporting news. The national Guard records of President Bush which were proven to be wrong to the NY Times sitting on a story because it might hurt a specific candidate. False accusations could cost you millions to defend and you, because you are a public figure, you can not sue to recover damages or charge harassment if repeated false charges are filed against you. With the media, ideally serving the public interest, doing all it can to to become the king maker. If they don't like you they will use all the means within their power to destroy you and cover up for their person.

well yes i completely agree...................................... to add further i thnk media just focus on makin money and not on the true interest of the soil....... they confuse people and then indoctrinate them with wat is more gossipy stuff and in doin that they do hide the truth if it,s not worth selling on the big screen..

well, i guess it is the good people that are running away from politics. if one really intends to join and make a difference in society, what ever the media says will not matter in the resolve of that politician. it is not just the media that is causing problems for our politics to be clean. the candidates and politicians themselves play out bad stuff to their opponents. i am not a politician, but i am willing to run.

That is a good question, I think that it does keep people from running. Personally, I would in a heartbeat just do to the fact that you really don't have to work that hard, and you make A LOT of money. I would do it just for the cash!!!!

People love power and wealth. Nothing will stop some people from wanting to be politicians. I wouldn't run because I don't think I could take the media abuse, especially in the digital age. Still the digital age has helped us expose certain people. I just don't think every little gaffe should be ridiculed.

I definitely think good people are being kept out of politics but not necessarily for the reasons you mentioned here. I'm sure there are some smart and capable men and women who would make great lawmakers or officeholders in one capacity or another who are afraid to run because of something in their past. We all make mistakes and I'm sure there are few of us who haven't done something in our youth that a political opponent just might try to use against us. I'm not saying we're all criminals or immoral, I'm just saying in politics youthful indiscretions sometimes get blown greatly out of proportion. I think the biggest thing that's keeping good people out of politics is big money. What chance does a "regular" person have, even in local politics, especially since the Citizens' United decision? If someone isn't either personally wealthy with almost unlimited resources or willing to be bought by wealthy donors, corporations and special interest groups, they might as well forget it and that's really sad. Annie

The media plays a decent chunk of the part in it, bit not necessarily for the reasons you cite. TasR made some great points to that end as well as some points on state ballot laws. But the media's roll is far more destructive, in that it is largely responsible for who survives the race and gets the exposure. That in itself is a big deterrent for people who are genuinely good but are unknown. If the media doesn't want you known, you won't be. In fact, if you don't even belong to one of the two big box parties, they will be sure you are either never known or are known as a fringe side show. Heck, they even do that with some main party candidates (Ron Paul, Denis Kusinich, Gary Johnson, etc). There is an entrenched collective mentality in our media of elitism and self importance and that covers the whole spectrum of big commercial media in the U.S. Foxnews, MSNBC, et al, all the same. If they don't want you in the race, you don't/won't exist.

I think the incident is not exclusive to the US alone, I think more and more people agree that the media is given way too much power or 'rights' that they fall short to remembering that they too have the responsibility of putting a limit and to not be biased. I see good people who have good intentions thinking twice before going into the limelight because of what the media could conjure in order to stain a name and to destroy a family. I mean, who among us don't have skeletons in our closet anyway? Is this a pageant that we need 'perfect' people? I think it's important not to be biased and most of what the media is interested about is to dig up the past and show too much of what is the past in order to influence people to think badly of some candidates - mostly those who don't really kiss a$$ to the media. There are human rights as well. We have the right to privacy. Whatever we do in our own time (not the time for work) should be respected. We may be bad a$$e$ before but who says we can't lead? There should be enough positive thoughts for once before all the people would be empathetic to politics. I see a lot of youth these days who don't care as much about politics. If things don't get better soon, there won't be anyone in the polls and that's the downfall of a government. Gone are the days of responsible media. Right now they're all paparazzis trying to make a buck out of destroying a name and digging up something that is no longer important.