-Jim Steinman (Bonnie Tyler)

 Max Cleland is a bona fide hero.   His valor during the Vietnam war resulted in his becoming a triple amputee.  He has dedicated his life to public service and became  a  United States Senator.

Cleland is no longer a Senator.  His 2002 opponent ran a campaign questioning Cleland’s patriotism.

 Cleland  is campaigning around the country, making sure that  Americans don’t fall for the same tactics.  A recent stop was Kentucky, where Cleland campaigned for Colonel Mike Weaver, a fellow veteran running for Congress.

 I worry about the people of Georgia as they bought into the smear.

 It seems like almost every candidate, from dog catcher to President, tries to insult  voters with negative campaigns.   They do it because they work

 Until Americans rise up against negative ads, politicians will keep dishing out the slime. 

 Like many others, Weaver’s opponent, Congressman Ron Lewis, is running a negative campaign.   I hate to see it as  I personally like Ron Lewis.

 We don’t agree on many issues but I never questioned his character and integrity.  This campaign has shaken the confidence I had in his character.

 When I met Congressman Lewis several years ago, it was it obvious that we had different views of the world.  Despite that difference, he was open to what I had to say.  We got to talking about our children and found we had both adopted our daughters.  It gave us a common bond.    

 I came away thinking that he was a stand up guy. 

 Now I see that the campaign he is running and it bothers me.   It does not reflect the Ron Lewis I thought I knew.

 I can’t blame one party or the other for negative advertising.  All do it with equal fervor.   Just for once, I would like to see a campaign fought on real issues.

 Every day, I see several commercials in the race between former Kentucky Congressman Ken Lucas, and current Congressman Geoff Davis.   I’m waiting for one of them to talk about a real issue.

 Instead, they malign each other’s character.  I now know that Lucas wrote a letter to help a felon get a lesser sentence.  I now know that Davis took pay raise after six months in office.   

 Neither  Davis or Lucas has said how they are going to make America better for me and my family. They tell me that the other guy is scum, thus I should vote for them as the lesser of evils.

 I’m tired of voting for lesser of evils.

 All this brings him me back to Max Cleland.  Cleland is a real hero, with real accomplishments, who dedicated his life to serving his country.  He was brought down by a guy who smudged the truth.

 It's hard to fault Cleland opponent.  He wanted to be a Senator and found a tactic that worked.  I fault voters who did not take the time to learn the truth about candidates.

 I’ll say this for Max Cleland.  I never want to start a fight with him.  The grit and determination that made him a hero in Vietnam lives on in his fight against negative campaigning.

 It can't be easy for a triple amputee to be  barnstorming the country.  It would be simple for Max Cleland to sit home and let others lead the charge.

 That is not Max Cleland’s style.

 I would love for this to be the year that negative campaigning doesn't work.  I would like for this to be the last time people like Ron Lewis get sucked into campaigning in ways that makes us  think less of them.

 Max Cleland was a hero on the battle field.  I’m holding out for more heroes like him in the fight against negative smear ads.

 Don McNay is the author of the “Unbridled World of Ernie Fletcher”.   You can write to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read other things he was written at www.donmcnay.com   His award winning column is syndicated on the CNHI News Service and he is on the Board of Directors for the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

You can read the reviews  about the “Unbridled World of Ernie Fletcher” at www.UnbridledErnieFletcher.com.

Don McNay

DonMcNay.com

P.O. Box 747

Richmond, Ky. 40476