Daily Egyptian Reporter 39

Political campaigns and the media outlets covering them have reduced the elucidation of election issues to a superficial exchange between the candidates and the voters, a media expert said Monday.

SIUC students and faculty, community college students and faculty, and area residents were offered their first taste of Election 1998 as the Public Policy Institute sponsored a star-studded cast symposium at which media and political specialists analyzed the process of campaign issue development.

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About 300 people gathered Monday in the Student Center Ballrooms to hear panels of public officials, campaign managers, journalists and academics discuss the development and manipulation of political issues and campaign messages.

The forum, sponsored by the SIUC Public Policy Institute, was titled How Candid Can Candidates Be?

Rick Pearson, political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, said a candidate must be cautious with regard to what he or she says and, with the onset of political advertising, a candidate is somewhat handicapped in his or her ability to enlighten voters about the complexity of issues.

Can a candidate be candid? Yes. But they can’t be stupid, Pearson said. One of the problems is that candidates tend to trivialize the issues.

There is a constant struggle between candidates wanting to define the issues and how they have to present them in the easiest way for the 30-second soundbite.

In giving the forum’s keynote address, Former Sen. Paul Simon defined candid as telling the truth and noted that the forum’s extended focus was how candid can candidates be and still get elected.

Simon spoke about the media’s responsibility in political campaigns and discussed the importance of candidates delineating issues considered difficult and divisive.

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Candidates shouldn’t be so weathered in their elections that they become less candid, Simon said. They have to address the difficult political problems, and the media has a responsibility to focus on the substantive issues.

With these words, Simon set the tone for the rest of the day, which was divided into three segments:a morning panel, luncheon address and an afternoon panel.

The morning panel primarily dealt with the development of political issues in the context of a campaign and the media’s covering of those issues.

The panel consisted of Andy Foster, Gov. Jim Edgar’s 1994 campaign manager; David Wilhelm, President Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign manager; Pearson; and Carol Fowler, assistant news editor at WGN-TV. The panel was moderated by John Jackson, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and provost.

All of the panelists agreed that issues are central to a political campaign and that a focused campaign will rally around a single, crystallized message, consisting of about three or four coherent issues. It was duly noted, however, that in an era of soundbites, complex issues tend to get squeezed out of the election process. Wilhelm, during the presentation, highlighted the five tenets of an effective political campaign.

Stay on the attack, Wilhelm said was the first point. Secondly, do not be defensive, but be the aggressor in public debate. Third, a campaign should close the gap where the opponent has the comparative advantage. Fourth, repetition of a campaign’s message is good. And fifth, when you’ve been attacked and you’re bleeding, you need to respond quickly and truthfully in the same news cycle.

Wilhelm underscored the necessity for a campaign constantly to remain focused. He cited the 1996 Bob Dole campaign as an example of ineffective strategy with regard to focus and message. He also said a message must contain a series of lucid issues communicated efficiently.

After the morning panel concluded, audience members were invited to eat lunch, during which time they heard from guest speaker, Edgar.

Edgar repeated many of the same points made during the panel presentation, but talked more about the role of the voter. He said voters should be informed on the issues before they come to the polls and should know why they are voting for the candidate they want to elect.

I’m worried about who’s coming to vote if they’re informed, he said. I want the people who do go to the polls to know what they’re voting on.

Following Edgar’s presentation, the afternoon panel commenced. The panel was comprised of Odie Washington, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections; Tom Homer, a Nashville appellate court justice; Mayor Karen Hasara of Springfield; Fowler; and Emily Wilkerson, State House correspondent for the Copley News Service. Tom Castellano of the SIUC Crime Study Center moderated the forum.

Mike Lawrence, associate director of the Public Policy Institute, was enthusiastic about the event and said the Institute will sponsor more political campaign forums in the future dealing with issues and messages.

I think it went very well, Lawrence said. It was a great educational experience for students and the community. It’s beneficial when you can get people in the area of public policy to come to campus and talk about their area.

We’re very encouraged by the turnout. We’ll be doing this again.